Johto Revisited: Memories Overwritten
by SavageTarzan
Summary: Ash finishes fourth in the Sinnoh conference and visits a friend before he leaves. Together they travel through a familiar region, but it seems to be more of a challenge than previously thought. Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.
1. Could It Be?

"I can't believe you're not coming with us!" Dawn sighed.

"What do you mean you're not going back to Twinleaf?" Brock asked his good friend. "This was so unlike Ash," Brock began to think, "Ash usually never goes anywhere without us."

"I'll be there, but I have to make a stop before I do," Ash tried his best to explain without giving away his intentions, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Dawn and Brock looked at each other, but it didn't help. Neither knew what was going through Ash's mind. "Alright… Be careful!" Both Dawn and Brock sighed again, whenever Ash had his mind made up, it was almost impossible to change his mind.

"Bye!" And just like that, Ash was off. Dawn and Brock stared at him, wondering what he was up to, but then continued on their way to Twinleaf.

"I wonder if she'll be surprised," Ash began to think. He hadn't seen Angie since they stopped that so-called "Scarf Monster", and to think he was only about an hour from seeing her again. Just because he hadn't seen Angie didn't mean he had stopped thinking about her. Throughout his entire travels, he had never met anyone with such a fiery passion and competitive spirit as her. He couldn't wait to see her again. All these thoughts brought a smile to his face, and he began to walk a little faster. Pikachu noticed this and caught up to his trainer.

"PikaPiPikachu?" Pikachu asked.

"I just really want to get there as soon as possible," Ash replied, his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"PikaPi."

"I made a promise I'd see her again," Ash started to blush a little more.

"Pika," Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder and pointed to his cheeks.

"Pikachu!" Ash said, wishing his best friend would stop. "I have an idea!" He reached onto his belt and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Go Staraptor!" The Predator pokémon emerged from the poké ball. "C'mon Pikachu, let's hop on!" and they headed off, going much faster than before.

* * *

"I wish I could've been there…" Angie was consumed by this one thought, wishing she could've cheered Ash on at the Lily of the Valley Conference. "Now, I don't even know if I'll ever see him again." She lied on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "If I do ever see that boy again, I can't let him go so easy again." She kept thinking about Ash, as she had been ever since she last saw him. "He saved my life twice and he's just so…"

"For Arceus' sake, Angie!"

Angie snapped out of it and ran downstairs, "Uh-oh."

"Yeah, Mom and Dad?" Angie saw her parents and she knew instantly that she had done something wrong.

"Angie, weren't you supposed to go take our little visitor for a walk at 3?" Angie's father said pointing at a clock. Angie remembered almost immediately, "I'm so sorry Dad, and you too Mom… I'll take him out right now."

"Were you thinking about Ash again?" Angie's mother asked teasingly.

"Whaaa?" Angie's face turned a deep red. "Okay, okay, I was. I just can't stop."

"I know, every hour it seems you're either thinking of him or wishing he was here. But we don't blame you, he seems like a really nice boy."

"Mom!" Angie turned her face away to hide her red cheeks, "I just… there's just no one like him… and remember we watched his matches on TV… and he just… I mean… I miss him…"

"Don't worry Angie," Angie's mom put her arm around her daughter, "I promise you will see him again, and if he means this much to you, maybe you should go after him." Angie's father jumped at this thought.

"You're not actually telling her she should go after him, are you?" Her father wondered.

"Why not? People always do crazy things for love," her mother said.

"LOVE!" Angie had had enough; she had already admitted she had feelings for Ash, but still wanted to somehow escape from this conversation, "I'm going to go take Espeon for walk, come on Shinx." Shinx and Espeon ran outside and waited on the path for Angie. "Bye!" Angie said as she closed the door.

Angie and her pokémon walked out to the main path. She turned down the path. She stopped and stared down it as she had done countless times since Ash left. "Ash..." she whispered. "Alright Shinx and Espeon, are you ready?" Angie said trying to change the subject.

"Espiii." "Shii," the two pokemon said as they agreed. The trio began to walk down the path in the opposite direction. A tear began to roll down Angie's face. Shinx noticed this and ran ahead to stop Angie. "Shinxx?"

Angie was beginning to question whether Ash would come back again. The very thought had brought tears to her eyes. "Oh… It's nothing, I just… I hope he comes back." She had just finished talking to Shinx when she heard a familiar voice, but couldn't understand it. "Hello? Is someone there?" She looked around, but couldn't see anybody around her. "Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks…"

"Angie!" There it was again, but this time she was sure she heard something. Both Shinx and Espeon looked up and smiled. Angie saw them, looked up and she saw something she thought she'd never see again.


	2. A Happy Reunion

It was Ash on his Staraptor, the very sight of them in person again brought tears to her eyes.

"Ashhh!" Angie ran towards him as fast as she could, she couldn't believe it was really him. "I knew he'd come back." Ash just began to land his Staraptor.

"Staraptor, return," Ash said as a red beam shot out from his poké ball and Staraptor was absorbed into the poké ball. "Angie!" He ran up towards her.

The two stopped a foot from each other and took it all in. This was something Ash had been waiting for, and that Angie hadn't seen coming. Ash extended his hand out and Angie knew what he was expecting. She put her hand out and they performed the secret handshake they did back at the Summer Academy. This time however, when Ash tried to retract his hand, Angie was hesitant to let go. "Remember Angie, don't let him go again," was the thought that travelled through her mind. Angie used his hand to pull them into a hug. "Hi Ash, how are you?" Angie said trying to stop Ash from seeing her rosy cheeks.

"I'm uhh… I'm just fine," Ash replied, also trying to hide his cheeks. He looked down and saw Pikachu and Shinx having a very animated conversation, and also saw an Espeon silently sitting beside them, but it didn't distract him. He was too focused on Angie. "How's it going?" Ash quickly tried to find something to say.

"Oh, it's just great," Angie said. "Now that you're here," she whispered that last part hoping Ash wouldn't hear. The two released from their hug. "Come on, we're going on a walk, you should come with us."

"That sounds great," Ash looked at Pikachu, "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"PikaPi," Pikachu said as he ran ahead.

The five of them continued down the path. Ash was nervous though, and this wasn't the nervousness he was used to with battling. He didn't want to screw up this moment just like he did at the Academy. "A friend," he thought, "Why can't I do this? I just placed Top 4 in all of Sinnoh, and battled in front of thousands of people and cameras, and now I can't even talk to a girl?" He started to look downwards a little bit.

Angie noticed this, and trying to change the subject asked, "So where are Brock and Dawn?"

"They wanted to go straight to Twinleaf and didn't want to take a long way, so we went our separate ways for now because I wanted to come visit you before I head back home." Ash noticed this comment had made Angie smile and her cheeks very red. He hadn't forgotten how cute she looked when she blushed.

"Well, I'm glad you made the journey out here. It was getting pretty lonesome and it was such a great surprise," Angie said, "You should stay for the night, it's getting pretty dark." In reality, it was actually only quarter to four, but she was trying to get the most time she could with him.

Ash looked up. The sun was still out and flocks of Starly could still be seen in the distance. Ash had already told Dawn and Brock that he would try to be in Twinleaf later that day, but he did say try, didn't he? He looked down towards Pikachu, "Do you want to stay the night?"

Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and said "Pikaaa!"

Ash instantly replied, "Yeah, we'd love to."

Angie was relieved to hear Ash say he'd stay the night. The long time to respond and asking Pikachu made her fearful he might refuse. "Awesome! When we get back, you can have the guest room." With that settled, Angie continued trying to find topics of conversation. "So… How awesome was the Lily of the Valley Conference. I watched you battle every day."

Ash began to smile, knowing that Angie had watched him battle. Every time he battled, whether it was against Nando, Conway, Paul or Takuto, he always scoured the audience for Angie, and every time there was no sign of her. "Yeah, I thought you would," Ash said.

"Well, you made it into the Top 4, but I could've done better."

"No way, we tried really hard! You wouldn't have made it into the top 32."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" They both remembered about when they used to bicker at the Summer Academy. The time when they fought over the Poké ball, and when they fought while running laps, and even when they fought to win the triathlon. They always had a competitive spirit and a fierce rivalry.

"Please, I could've made it to the final match with my eyes closed," Angie said jokingly, even though she knew she had no chance of making it that far. "But honestly, I'm proud of you, getting that far against some of the toughest trainers in all of Sinnoh."

"Yeah, and I've never felt closer to any of my pokémon, they always have my back." This was something she had expected for Ash to say. How it wasn't him, but it was all of them who contributed to his success. "Race you to the daycare!" And just like that, Ash was off with Pikachu following close behind.

Angie began to run. "You're not going to win this time! Come on Shinx and Espeon, let's go." Angie didn't want to lose to Ash in a race again, and with this goal in front of her, she ran faster than before. Ash tried to keep his lead, but as the house got closer in view, Angie managed to pass Ash.

When they arrived at the house, Angie had won. Shinx and Pikachu started to run around and play with each other. However, shortly after they both got to the porch, they sat down, completely out of breath. "Looks like you still remember ladies first," Angie said, followed up with uncontrollable laughter from the two of them. When Ash managed to stop laughing, he said, "You just got lucky, that's all."

"What's going on around here?" Angie and Ash turned around to see Angie's parents looking at them through the window.

"Ah!" The two both stumbled to get up and dust themselves off. "Nothing,"

"Ash, is that you?" Angie's mother suddenly recognized him. She then turned towards Angie and winked, which caused Angie to blush. "How are you? We saw you during the conference on TV."

"Yeah, it's me. I decided to visit before I continued on my journey." Ash replied, embarrassed by all this sudden questioning.

"Mom, is it okay if Ash stays the night?" Angie asked while trying to cover up her rosy cheeks.

"It's perfectly okay." Angie's mother looked at Angie expectantly, causing her to blush profusely. "He can have the guest room."

"Thank you," said Ash, thankful he could spend at least one more night with Angie.

"Now Angie, I believe it's your night to prepare dinner. Would you like to help, Ash?" Angie's father said.

"That'd be cool, if it's okay with you, Angie."

"Thanks Ash," Angie said. "Race you there," she said as she ran inside towards the kitchen, followed by Ash.

"Did you see that?" Angie's mother asked. "They're such good friends."

"You can tell there's something really special there," Angie's father added.

"Do you think Ash knows Angie likes him?"

"I'm not sure, but I know our Angie, and if she likes him, he will know."

"Do you think Ash likes our Angie? I mean, you saw how they connected."

"I don't know. We just have to wait and see. But if he does, they could just take over the daycare."


	3. Getting Prepared

"Beat you again." Angie was already in the kitchen as Ash ran in. She was still overjoyed to see that Ash chose to visit her before he left, and he even went to see her without Brock and Dawn. Unfortunately, this other thought kept going through her head. This could be the last time they ever see each other again. "No," she thought to herself, "This can't be the last time; it won't be the last time." She was confident she'd find a way to make sure of that. "So are you ready to cook?" Angie said.

"Yeah," Ash said full of confidence, but still out of breath. "I've been watching Brock cook for a long time now. I probably learned a thing or two from him."

"Great!" Angie ran over to her drawer and picked out a few cards. "What do you want to make?" She looked down at the paper cards in her hands. "How about we make some honey-coated lum berries and pasta? It's what I'm best at." She smiled at Ash.

"That sounds great, so where do we begin?" Ash looked at the card. "So we need honey, lum berries, pasta, sauce and some spices. Do we have all that?" Ash looked back up at Angie. He couldn't help but stare at her, his cheeks began to blush red. Her beautiful dark green hair, her signature green T-shirt and her amazing dark gold eyes, he was so happy he came to visit. He just didn't know one thing, "How am I going to be able to say good-bye to her for such a long time?" He shook this thought out of his head, "I'll think of something, I still have until tomorrow morning."

"I think we have everything… Wait, we need some more lum berries, we're running low." Angie noticed the clueless look Ash had on his face. "Do you want to go into town and grab some lum berries?" She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him, but she needed to find a way to tell Ash how she felt or maybe find out how Ash felt about her.

"Sure, I'll be back soon. Pikachu, let's go." Ash headed outside with Pikachu right behind him and they started walking toward the town.

Angie couldn't help but watch him as he walked. "I'm so lucky to know him…" Angie said. "I got it!" She knew now how she'd tell Ash how she felt. "I have to go get ready," she said as she ran upstairs with a glowing smile on her face.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu had finally arrived at a store. They ran inside and to the berry aisle and looked around. "Pikachu, do you see the lum berries?" Ash asked his long-time partner.

"Pikapii." Pikachu shook his head, then stared at the shelf. "Pika!" Pikachu pointed at the sign which read "Lum Berries."

"Thanks Pikachu." Ash walked up and began to take some lum berries. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. That should be enough, right?"

"Pikachu! PikaPiPiPikachu?" Pikachu was asking Ash about Angie. Not normally had Ash been around someone else more than Pikachu for so long.

"I'm sorry Pikachu." Ash said, having packed up the lum berries. "I just… I don't know. I always get to spend time with you, but who knows how much longer I'll be able to see Angie for?" The two started their long journey back to Angie's when Pikachu stopped and tugged at Ash's leg.

"Pika PiPikachu." Pikachu pointed its tail to a shelf containing different dolls and cards.

Ash realized what his pokémon wanted. Pikachu wasn't jealous of Angie anymore, he supported the two. So he decided to take a look at some of the dolls. After a few minutes, Ash jumped up. "This is perfect!" Ash reached out and grabbed a pair of dolls and promptly paid for them. "Let's go, little buddy."

"Chaaa!" Pikachu looked up. It was already getting dark outside. "PikaPi!"

"Uh-oh! We have to hurry up." Ash and Pikachu bolted towards Angie's house as fast as they could.

* * *

"What time is it?" Angie looked up. It was six o'clock. "It usually doesn't take this long to buy some berries," Angie began to worry about Ash. "But I guess it gives me some more time." She tried to relax and pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and read it aloud, "Ash, I've wanted to say this to you for a long time, but I thought you could figure it out for yourself. You're so cute and you came all this way to see me again, but you've also been really oblivious. So I'm going to come right out and say this, I like you Ash Ketchum."

"BANG!"

Angie's heart jumped. She quickly turned around and hoped that wasn't Ash getting back. She wasn't ready to tell him just yet, though she knew she was running out of time. She settled down though, as it was just Shinx knocking a pot. "Shinx, come here!"

Shinx immediately ran over to Angie and sat down. Angie rubbed the fur on top of her Shinx's head. "Don't worry about the pot, I'll pick it up later." She looked around to see if her parents heard the pot fall down, but they were still outside tending to a visiting Oddish. She turned her attention back to Shinx. "I'm finally going to do it, Shinx."

"Shinx! Shii." Shinx knew exactly what Angie was talking about. She had spent countless nights talking about Ash and how much she liked him.

Angie was proud of herself. She wasn't going to back down this time, she was just going to wait until the perfect moment and then let it out.

"Sorry I'm late," Ash said rushing through the door. Pikachu jumped through the window. "I got the lum berries."

"Oh, hi Ash. It took you long enough. Sure, let's start dinner." Angie blushed being caught with the paper in her hands and quickly folded it up and put it in her pocket. "Shinx and Pikachu, do you want to help?" Angie asked as she stood up, but when she turned towards them, they were sleeping on the couch. "I guess it's been a long day."

"So where are your parents?" Ash asked. He was just taking the berries out of his bag.

"Oh, they're taking care of Oddish, but they should be back any minute." Angie walked into the kitchen. "So why'd it take you so long to get these?" She started preparing the berries.

"I… Uh…" Ash stuttered. "I just couldn't find them." He began to blush; he had to wait for the right moment to surprise her again. "So, is there anything I can help with?" Ash was completely clueless about how to help.

"Umm… I've got it under control. Why don't you start setting up the guest room? I'll come help when I can." This could be her chance.

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon," Ash said. He started walking to his room. "This could be my one shot," he thought.


	4. Always Interrupted

"Alright," Angie said. The berries were all coated in honey and the pasta was all done. She put the berries on to a large plate and the pasta into a large bowl. "There we go."

"Looks good Angie." Angie looked up. It was her father.

"Oh, hi dad." She gave her father a hug, as he sat down at the table along with her mother. "Yeah, it's all ready now, let me just go get Ash." She made her way down the hallway towards Ash's room. Outside the door, she began to get nervous. "What if he doesn't feel the same way?" She thought. "What if it makes things uncomfortable?" She grabbed the doorknob with her shaky hand and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She turned the doorknob and opened the door. To her surprise, the lights were off. She looked towards the bed, and there she saw Ash sleeping happily. She tip-toed over to the bed and sat down beside him. "I forgot how cute he looks when he's sleeping," she thought. She sat there for what seemed like forever just admiring him, his messy black hair, that cute face of his, and the sound of him breathing while he slept. She could just sit there for hours and hours on end. Unfortunately, she remembered the reason she came in to his room in the first place. "Oh well."

Angie leaned her head in close to Ash. She had to resist the urge to kiss his cheek, she was here to do something else. "Hey sleepyhead, dinner's ready," Angie whispered into Ash's ear. She had thought about saying it louder, but she decided not to.

Ash rolled over and opened his eyes. Angie was right beside him and was leaning over him. "Ahh!" Ash jumped before realizing it was Angie.

"That's a nice way to say hello." Angie looked the other way. Ash looked a little dazed, but managed to regain his focus.

"Sorry about that. You startled me!" Ash started to think maybe the moment had passed. "Hey Angie, did you say the food is ready? Let's go!" Ash grabbed Angie's hand and tried to walk to the door.

Angie blushed when Ash grabbed her and she pulled Ash back. "Wait," she said and Ash took a seat on the bed beside her. She took a deep breath, let go of Ash's hand and reached into her pocket. Ash couldn't understand what she was doing. She pulled out a piece of paper. "I have something I want to…"

"Angie, Ash, hurry up!"

Angie looked up to the ceiling. "Why mom?" She thought to herself. "Why?" Just as quickly as she had pulled out the piece of paper, she slid it back into her pocket. She took another deep breath and cleared her head. For some reason though, she didn't feel upset or angry. Instead she felt proud, proud that she had actually gathered the courage to tell him. She grabbed Ash's hand and started to blush again. "We should get to dinner," she told him.

"Wait, what were you going to say?" Ash wondered.

Angie smiled as she looked in Ash's eyes. With this new confidence in herself, Angie felt no worry. She knew she'd have another chance and that she wouldn't chicken out. "You'll see," she told him. "Now we really should get to dinner." She pulled Ash up off the bed and led him out to the table. She felt nervous; she hoped her parents wouldn't embarrass her in front of Ash.

When they got to the table, Angie saw that her parents had already finished eating and were leaving the table. Although she felt bad that they were late, she also felt relieved; she didn't have to worry about her parents and she could have a quiet normal dinner alone with Ash.

"Sorry we're late," Ash apologized, but he couldn't help but feel relieved of the pressure of a family dinner.

"It's quite alright," Angie's mother said as she and Angie's father walked towards them. "You two just get some food; we should probably get back to Oddish, he hasn't been able to sleep all day, and he's getting really cranky."

"Alright, Mom and Dad. We'll see you later." Angie smiled. "Thank you Mom," she thought. Her Mom winked at her, as if she had heard Angie's thought, which made her blush. She had completely forgotten about her mother interrupting her and Ash just a few minutes earlier.

Ash and Angie both sat down at the table beside each other. Shinx, Pikachu and Espeon had already eaten and were playing outside, so it was just them eating. "So how are the berries and pasta?" She asked Ash.

"They're amazing, did you really make them?" Angie blushed at the compliment.

"Yeah I did, it's an old family recipe." Angie was glad that Ash liked her food.

"It's delicious." Ash had already finished his entire plate and was grabbing himself seconds. Angie was only halfway done her plate.

Angie looked around to make sure her parents weren't around and turned back to Ash. "So Ash," she began. "As I said before, I have something I want to tell you." Alone with Ash, she thought this might be her last chance to tell him.

Ash looked up and stopped eating. "Okay, I'm listening." Angie had his full attention, he was very curious as to what Angie had written on that piece of paper she had pulled out before. He noticed she had pulled it out again and placed it in front of her, as if she were to recite something written on it.

Angie took a deep breath as she had done before and began to speak. "Ash, I've wanted to…"

"PIKA!" Ash and Angie turned and looked out the window. Two giant mechanical arms had grabbed Pikachu and Shinx.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"Shinx!" Angie yelled.

They ran outside and saw a couple of familiar faces in a familiar balloon. "Not these guys again," Angie thought. She slid the paper back into her pocket.

"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled at them. He was frustrated that he and Angie couldn't get a single moment together alone.

"Ahahahaha, prepare for trouble, look who we have here." Jessie began their motto.

"A twerp and his twerpette, make it double the fear." James continued.

"To protect our…"

"Agh, why don't you just leave us alone?" Angie was upset at being interrupted with Ash for the second attempt in a row.

"How dare you interrupt our motto!" Jessie said. "Come on out, Seviper." She threw her poké ball and a white energy shot out and materialized into the Fang Snake Pokémon.

"Time to shine, Carnivine!" James threw a poké ball and it opened, revealing his Carnivine, who promptly flew over and bit James' head. "Don't get me, get them!" Carnivine turned its attention back to Ash and Angie. "Carnivine, Bullet Seed!" Carnivine opened its mouth and seeds shot of its mouth.

"Seviper, Poison Tail!" Seviper's tail glowed purple and charged towards Ash and Angie.

Ash grabbed a poké ball, but Angie put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I've got this one." She smiled at him and he put his poké ball back on his belt. "Espeon, Protect." Espeon jumped in between Ash and Angie. A green sphere surrounded the three of them, blocking the Bullet Seed and Poison Tail. "Now Espeon, use Psychic!" Espeon's eyes glowed a light blue; Carnivine and Seviper were surrounded by a blue aura and they were slammed to the ground and fainted.

"Great moves," Ash said. He was very impressed with Angie's battling.

"Thanks Ash." Angie blushed. "Don't worry, I'll get Pikachu free." She turned her attention towards Team Rocket and their balloon.

"Ahhh!" James, Jessie and Meowth said, looking at their fainted pokemon.

"Espeon, now use Psychic on the hands holding Pikachu and Shinx." Espeon's eyes glowed blue again as the hands holding Pikachu and Shinx shattered and the two pokémon fell. "Shinx! Return." Angie recalled Shinx to its poké ball.

"Pikachu, how about a Thunderbolt?" Ash asked his pokémon.

"Pi-ka-chuuu!" A bolt of electricity shot from Pikachu and hit the balloon, shocking it. The balloon exploded, sending Team Rocket flying through the air.

"We're blasting off again…" Team Rocket yelled as they drifted out of sight.

Pikachu landed safely on the ground and ran up to Ash. "Pikachu!" Ash gave Pikachu a hug and put him on his shoulder.

Ash walked towards Angie and looked into her dark gold eyes. "Thank you for saving Pikachu, you were amazing." Angie started to blush. "I know you would make a great trainer some day." He gave her a hug. She leaned into this hug and smiled. Ash pulled out and looked at her again. "So what were you going to say earlier?"

"Hey! Are you two okay? What happened?" Ash and Angie turned towards the field and saw Angie's mother. "She must've heard the noise," Ash thought.

Angie got an idea on how to tell Ash how she felt without getting interrupted. "I'll tell you later," she whispered to him. Ash had surprised her by showing up here. Now it was her turn to surprise him.

"It's getting late you two, you should come inside and get some sleep," Angie's mother suggested.

"Yeah, let's go inside," Angie told Ash. She led him inside and to his room. "Well, I guess this is goodnight." She gave him a hug. "See you soon," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"Goodnight Angie," Ash said. He walked into his room and sat down on his bed. "What did she mean 'See you soon'?" Ash thought. "I wonder what she was going to say all those times." "I have to tell her how I feel…" Ash fell asleep smiling to these thoughts.


	5. Can I Come With You?

"Shii!"

Ash woke up to find Angie's signature pokémon nudging him in the back. He patted Shinx on the head and looked around. "Still dark," he said to himself. "I wonder what's going on." He looked back towards Shinx, who was now standing beside the door. "Why'd you have to wake me up?" He asked the Flash Pokémon.

"Shinx." Shinx swung its tail in front of it, revealing one of Angie's white bracelets hanging on it. Ash immediately recognized the bracelet and pulled the blanket off of him and sat up. "Shii." Shinx walked out the door.

"Wait, come back," Ash whispered as to not wake anybody else up. He grabbed his bag and tip-toed out the door. "Where is Shinx going?" He thought to himself. To his surprise, Shinx lead him outside and through the field surrounding Angie's house. He had a hard time following Shinx in the middle of the night. "Shinx, where are you taking me?" He asked. However, it was ignored.

They continued until a large rock came into their view, lying on a beach by a small lake. Shinx immediately ran up towards it, while Ash hurried behind. "Wait for me!" He yelled. Shinx jumped on top of the rock and lied down, beginning to sleep. Ash slowed as he neared the rock, a dark figure became more and more recognizable.

"Funny seeing you here," Angie joked.

"Angie?" Ash said. He knew it was her, he was just surprised and didn't know how else to respond. "Why did Angie bring me here, especially at this time of night?" he wondered to himself. Before he saw Angie's face, Ash was feeling grumpy about being woken up, but just one look at her face made him completely forget about it.

"Yeah, come on up here Ash." Angie finally had an opportunity, one where she knew she wouldn't get interrupted.

"Alright." Ash climbed up on top of the rock and sat down beside her. "So you told Shinx to wake me?" He still didn't understand why she had done all this, but it certainly felt like the moment he had been waiting for.

"Yep, I wanted to get us alone together so we couldn't get interrupted." She stared at the sky and continued. "Remember during the Summer Academy?" She paused and looked at Ash.

"Yeah, that was the first time we ever met." Ash was looking directly into Angie's eyes.

"Yeah," Angie looked away and blushed remembering when they fought over the poké ball. "We had so much fun, and we won too! But ever since then, I haven't been able to think of anything except for those moments that I've spent with you. When we first met, when we had to run laps, when we battled, and especially when you saved my life from that ghost girl, and again during the triathlon when I fell. You've constantly been on my mind."

"Really?" Ash asked her, he started to blush. The sight of Ash blushing brought a big smile to Angie's face. "The truth is, I almost cried on that final day at the Academy." He wasn't lying either, he remembered lying in his sleeping bag that night thinking about Angie, the beautiful dark green haired girl he met at the Academy and how much fun they had, as rivals and as friends, and thought about how much fun they would have, as friends and possibly more.

This astonished Angie, but nevertheless she continued on, "I did." She remembered running back to her house with tears streaming down her face that day when Ash left over the horizon. She couldn't hold them in then and she felt herself tearing up now, but she managed to hold herself together. "I have something I want to tell you." She looked around to make sure nothing would interrupt them, but before she could start, she saw Ash's lips move.

"Before you start, I have something for you." Ash decided this was the moment he'd show her his gift and tell her how he felt. "Close your eyes."

Angie did as he said. Hundreds of thoughts rushed through her head, all focusing on what Ash was up to. She had already expected to have to reveal her feelings and then worry about his response. "He's always full of surprises," she thought.

"Now open them," she heard Ash say. She opened her eyes and saw Ash holding his hands out to her. She looked into his hands and saw he was holding two dolls, one of Shinx and another of Pikachu.

"Oh, Ash." She gave him a hug and stared into his eyes adoringly.

"I'm glad you like it, I saw it when I was picking up the berries and thought I'd get them for you." He looked away shyly; he wasn't used to these kinds of nerves. No battle or contest had ever made him feel like this.

Angie couldn't help but blush; she loved Ash's gift and by the way he was blushing, she knew he liked her. Now there was no fear, this was the moment. It was now or never. She gave him a little kiss on the cheek and sat back down. "I like you," she whispered softly enough that he wouldn't hear.

Ash stared blankly into her eyes. His mind was still processing what just happened. "Did she just kiss my cheek?" Ash thought to himself, but he snapped out of it, realizing Angie had said something. "What did you say?" He asked her.

Angie took a deep breath, and hoped it'd be the last one she'd have to take. She pulled the piece of paper from out of her pocket, which easily caught Ash's eye. She pulled it up to her face. "I can do this," she thought. She crumpled the paper into a ball and stuffed it back into her pocket. "Ash," she started to speak. "I've wanted to say this to you for a long time…" She paused while she gathered to courage to say what she wanted to. "I like you," she finally blurted out and grabbed him in for a hug.

These words made Ash smile, because they were the very same he was about to tell her. "I like you too." He was confident in his words too, he really did like her. He liked her a lot.

Angie raised her head and looked into Ash's eyes. "Really?" She knew they had a special connection, but this was beyond what she expected from him, though it wasn't a bad thing, he just usually seemed so oblivious. She smiled knowing her crush liked her back. She knew there was only one thing she wanted to do now, and so she lunged closer to him until they were locked in a really close hug. There was nothing she had ever experienced that compared to this moment. She clutched Ash in her arms. "So this is how it feels," she thought. This was something she had imagined for several months now.

Ash felt the hug soften and Angie moved. "Wow," he said in shock. Angie giggled. "I guess that means we're a thing." He thought about the words he had just said for a minute.

"Wow, Angie and I together? I couldn't have imagined this any better than it turned out… Wait! Angie and I… We're together..? And just when I'm about to go home?" His happy thoughts had quickly turned into painful ones. "Why couldn't this have happened earlier? Like at the Academy…" He lowered his head and tried not to think about it, but whatever bliss he was just feeling had turned into sorrow. A tear had started to form in his eye.

Angie noticed the depression Ash was seemingly falling into and decided now was the time to ask him an important question. "Ash?" He looked up; Angie could see a tear now trickling down his cheek. "I was wondering…" She wiped the tear off his cheek and took his hand in hers. She prepared for what could be a life-changing question, not just for her, but for both of them. "Can I come with you? To Kanto?"

She didn't want to leave Ash, she had never wanted to. She did after the Academy, and again when he left her parent's daycare, but to her, those felt like mistakes. This was one mistake she couldn't allow herself to do again. She had just told him that she liked him and maybe this was going a bit too quickly, but she didn't want to wait months upon months until the day Ash might return to Solaceon Town for her.

* * *

So, finally Angie managed to tell Ash, congrats, but now she has another nervewracking moment in front of her, would he accept her offer to join him in Kanto? If she did, what would her parents say? If she didn't, how much more would her parents bother her? This answer could change their relationship forever.


	6. Saying Goodbye

Without hesitation, a smile grew on Ash's face. The sadness he had felt before vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

As Ash smiled, Angie followed suit. She knew Ash's answer just by looking at him. Neither one of them wanted this to be their last moment together.

"Angie, of course you can come with me." Ash told her.

Even though she already knew what his answer would be, there was nothing that could compare to hearing him say it. She leaned towards him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Ash," she told him.

While leaning on Ash's shoulder, Angie started to realize the consequences of everything that just happened. This wasn't just her following Ash to his home region; this was the beginning of her very own pokémon journey. Her heart began to race; she was finally going to go on her own journey. She was going to become a pokémon trainer. "This better not be a dream," she thought as she pinched herself. "Ow… Okay it's real. Thank Arceus I'm not asleep …" Angie sat up and realized what time it must be. "Sleep!"

"Ash," Angie reminded Ash. "We should probably go back and get some sleep before tomorrow."

Ash jumped up. "Oh yeah…" The reminder that he hadn't slept instantly sapped a large amount of his energy. He barely pulled Angie up to her feet and started to drag himself into the trees. "C'mon, let's go," he told Angie, who giggled at him.

"Shinx," Angie spoke to her Shinx, who immediately awoke to find the two trainers about to leave. "Can you lead Ash home? He's going the wrong way."

"Shii," the Flash Pokémon replied as it ran off after Ash and promptly lead him back on to the path to the daycare.

"He can be so cute sometimes." Angie blushed at this thought. She picked the dolls Ash gave her off the rock and followed closely behind Shinx and Ash towards her parent's house. "Now if only tomorrow would arrive faster…"

* * *

"Starly!" "Star!" "Star-star-starly!"

Ash awoke to the sound of a flock of Starly flying over Angie's house. He got up, looked out the window and stretched, feeling completely refreshed. Pikachu opened its eyes and jumped on to Ash's shoulder.

"Ahhh… That felt nice," he said to his Pikachu, both staring out the window.

"Pi-Pika-Pi," Pikachu responded, agreeing with his trainer.

Ash turned and walked over to his bag on the dresser, Pikachu holding on to his shoulder. Suddenly, all of his memories from last night flashed back into his head; the intentional waking-up, the rock by the lake, the kiss on the cheek and what they said to each other. He got dressed and picked up his bag. He turned towards the door and put his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, Pikachu, Angie's coming with us!" He told Pikachu. Ash remembered Pikachu had been fast asleep while he followed Angie's Shinx last night.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked his trainer.

"Yeah, she is. I wouldn't make this up to you."

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu got excited that they were going to have another travelling companion joining them, as well as that he would be able to have fun with his new best friend, Shinx.

Ash turned the doorknob and walked out into the hallway. To his surprise, when he got to the living room, there sat Angie and her parents on the couch, as if they'd been expecting him.

"Good morning Ash," Angie's parents said. Angie smiled towards him.

"Good morning you three," he replied. He wondered why he was getting the feeling that he was interrupting something important.

"So is it true?" Angie's mother asked Ash. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, but he saw Angie nodding at him.

"Um, is what true?" Ash asked nervously. He felt he should've known what she was talking about, but he didn't.

"I told them that I was going to be travelling with you," Angie told him. She patted the seat next to her, indicating that it was free. Angie's parents looked towards Ash, seeing if he'd confirm it.

"Yeah, she is." Ash walked over beside Angie and sat down. He turned back to her parents, who were smiling and looking at Angie. "She asked me if she could come along and I wasn't going to say no to her."

Angie's mother looked at Angie and grinned, which made Angie blush. "We're glad Angie's travelling with you," Angie's father told Ash.

"Ever since your last visit, Angie's been really anxious to travel," Angie's mother explained. "We think it's because she hoped she'd see…"

"Mom!" Angie interrupted, knowing what her mother was going to say.

"As I was saying," Angie's mother continued. "Angie's really wanted to travel recently, but we didn't want her to leave all alone. So what I'm trying to say is… Thank you for taking Angie on her very own pokémon journey."

Ash blushed slightly when he heard these words; could it have been him who made her want to travel? He looked at Angie and could see the uncontrollable redness in her face. She was thinking about how nice it would be to travel around the world. It was a relatively new idea for her; she always thought she would just take over the daycare and that would be it, but now she was going to see all kinds of different pokémon with Ash. She didn't know where they were going to go, but she knew that, no matter what happened, Ash would be there.

"It's no problem at all." Ash said, still shyly looking at Angie.

"So when do you two think you'll be heading out?" Angie's father asked, trying to keep focused on this journey.

"Well…" Ash started, but was interrupted by Angie.

"We're going to leave later today," Angie confessed to her parents. Her parents were in complete shock from this. They didn't expect them to leave so quickly. "I'm sorry it's so soon," she tried to apologize. To Angie's surprise however, she noticed the shock in her parent's faces quickly replaced with a smile.

"That's okay," Angie's mother said. "It's easy to see the excitement on your face. And you've always been quite rash."

"Besides," Angie's father added. "We know how happy you'll be, and why would we stand in the way of that?"

"I know…" Angie replied, somewhat embarrassed by her parent's comments. There was something else Angie felt though, the support of her family. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle the daycare without me?"

"Don't worry about us. We'll manage just fine," Angie's mother reassured Angie. "Now you two should get some food in you." She could see the smiles grow on the new traveling partner's faces.

"YEAH!" Angie and Ash exclaimed in unison.

* * *

"So I guess this is it…" Angie said to her parents. She was standing with Ash on the dirt path right outside her house, with her parents right in front of them.

"Our little girl's growing up." Angie's mother said, embracing her daughter for a hug. "Just don't forget to call us every now and then."

"I won't Mom." She released herself from her mother's clutches and stepped back so she could talk to both of her parents. "Don't worry about me too much; I'm going to become the greatest trainer to ever come out of Solaceon Town." Her parents giggled at their daughter's reply, overconfident as always.

"I hope you two catch the boat to Kanto; Twinleaf and Sandgem Town are pretty far away and the boat leaves at eight tonight, doesn't it?" Angie's father wondered.

"We will; I've got a trick up my sleeve." Ash gave a smile to Angie. "Go Heracross and Staraptor!" He tossed two poké balls into the air and released white light, which materialized into the two pokémon. "Now because neither of them can carry the both of us, I thought you could ride Staraptor, and I'll take Heracross." Pikachu ran up to the pokémon and began a very animated conversation with them.

"Oh Ash…" Angie blushed. "Should we get going then?"

Ash took a look at his pokédex. "Yeah it's just past two-thirty. If we leave now, we should get there by four." He turned his attention to her parents. "It was nice to see you again, and don't worry about Angie, I'll keep her out of trouble." Angie's parents enjoyed a small chuckle at this joke.

"Are you kidding? I'll be the one keeping you out of trouble." Angie argued.

"Yeah? Says who?"

"Says me!" Angie and Ash looked at each other with a competitive look in their eyes.

"How cute!" Angie's mother said quickly to Angie's father before turning back towards Angie and Ash; they both looked up at her, snapping out of their previous dispute. "Angie, you take care of yourself and remember that no matter what, we're proud of you." Angie nodded with a very determined look in her eyes. "And Ash, take care of the both of you."

"You don't need to worry about us," Ash explained. "I'll teach her everything I know, and I know she'll be an amazing trainer." Angie blushed hearing Ash compliment her to her parents.

"I know, but it's what a mother does. Doesn't your mother worry about you?"

"Of course, that's why I'm going to visit her as soon as I get to Kanto."

"Pi-Pikachu," Pikachu jumped on his trainer's shoulders and happily agreed.

"Now Angie," Angie's father started to say his goodbye. "Don't worry about us here, you just focus on your battling and before you know it, we could be watching your battles on TV, just like we watched Ash's."

"You really think so?" Angie was excited. Did they really think she could make it all the way into a conference? "That would be awesome!"

"Oh, before you go Angie." Angie's father ran back inside the house, causing Ash and Angie to wonder what he was doing. He re-emerged holding something covered by a sheet making it impossible to see, but it was easy to tell that it was round. "Here's something that might help you on your trip." He handed it to Angie.

"Thanks Dad!" She pulled off the sheet and instantly her jaw dropped, followed by Ash's. "Is… Is this a…?"

"A pokémon egg? Why yes it is. I was returning this trainer's pokémon when I noticed one of them was holding this egg." Angie hugged her dad. "I tried to give him the egg, but he insisted that it was better off if I held on to it, so I held on to it to surprise you."

"Thanks Dad, I wonder what pokémon it will be." Angie studied the egg. It was a deep pink colour, with 2 green zigzag stripes on it. "I love it Dad. I can't wait until it hatches."

"Well, you probably don't have to wait too long, I've been holding on it for a couple weeks already so it shouldn't be too much longer now."

"Really? That's great." She turned to Ash, who was still admiring the egg just as much as she was.

"Angie, you two should probably go now," Angie's mother suggested. "It's coming up on three."

"Yeah, she's right," Ash pointed out. "Nice to see you two!" Ash told Angie's parents as he hopped on top of Heracross.

"Pi-PikaPi!" Pikachu said his goodbye.

"Yeah, goodbye Mom and Dad," Angie told her parents. "And don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She put the egg in her bag, ran off and got on to Staraptor.

"You know we will," Angie's parents replied in unison. "Goodbye!"

"Alright Staraptor and Heracross, let's go!" Ash told his pokémon.

"Hera-cross!" "Staaa-Raptor!" The two pokémon replied as they lifted off the ground and flew off towards the distance.

"Bye!" Angie tried to yell and wave as she flew off into the distance.


	7. Catching The Boat Home

Two people paced back and forth across the carpet in a living room. The blue-haired individual stopped and looked at the other person. "Where is he?" She asked. "Brock? Does he know the boat leaves today!" She raised her voice out of concern and anger. She didn't want Ash to miss his ride back to his home region, although she also expected to spend more time with him before he left.

"Don't worry Dawn," Brock said. "He'll make it here on time." He tried to calm Dawn down, but he was panicking as well. "He said he'd try to be here yesterday," he thought to himself. "What could have taken him this long?" He stared at the clock, which read 4:25. "Great..."

"Brock!" Brock walked over to Dawn, who was peering out of the window. "What is that?" She pointed towards two objects in the sky that were steadily growing in size.

Brock glanced up into the sky to see what Dawn was looking at. "I'm not sure…" One of the two objects grew large enough to be recognizable to Brock. "C'mon, let's go outside," he asked Dawn, grabbing her hand and dragging her outside.

"But Brock! It could be dangerous!" She pleaded, but to no avail. When they got outside, they looked up to the sky, one of the objects much closer into view. "Is that…" Dawn started, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey guys!"

Dawn and Brock turned to each other and exclaimed in unison, "It's Ash!" They ran up to greet him as he hopped off of his Heracross with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu ran up and into Dawn's arms, making his presence felt.

"Hey Ash, you sure scared us." Brock told his good friend.

Dawn slapped her former travelling partner. "Ash, you're lucky you got here in time." Dawn told him. Pikachu jumped out of Dawn's arms and ran up to Piplup.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but as you can see, I had a stop to make," he explained to the two as he pointed to the other object in the sky. It had gotten bigger as they exchanged greetings, and became much more visible. Both Dawn and Brock could clearly make out Ash's Staraptor closing in on them, but couldn't see who was riding on it.

"Ash!" The person riding Staraptor yelled out. "You could've waited up!" Staraptor flapped its wings as it lowered itself to the ground.

Dawn and Brock recognized the voice instantly, but couldn't believe their ears, so they had to ask, "Angie…?" Angie hopped off of Staraptor and ran up to the three people looking at her.

"Dawn, Brock? How have you been?" Angie asked them.

"We've been good," Dawn replied. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in… Oh…" She realized that Ash must've brought her out here to say goodbye.

"What a surprise seeing you here," Brock added. "I thought you'd be helping your parents in Solaceon Town." He was just as shocked as Dawn at the sight of Angie.

"Well…" Angie was nervous about telling them. "I was going to, but…" Ash could see Angie struggling to tell them, so he stepped beside her and put his arm on her shoulder.

"She's coming with us to Kanto." Ash explained. Angie looked up at Ash and noticed his arm on her, which made her blush. Brock and Dawn both had shocked looks on their faces. They didn't expect to see Angie here, nor did they expect Ash to have his arm on her shoulder. Could it be that Ash finally showed one moment where he wasn't oblivious?

"Maybe he's growing up," Brock mumbled to Dawn, who giggled in response. He turned his attention back to Angie, "Well, it'll be great having you come with us on the boat."

"So, do you know what you're going to do in Kanto?" Dawn asked her. Dawn noticed the blushing in Angie's cheeks and winked at her, which just made her blush more evident.

"Well…" She looked away from Dawn for a second to look at Ash, but quickly looked back at her. "I'm going to win the next conference near the Kanto region." Ash gave Dawn and Brock a look as to say, "She has no idea," which gave Dawn and Brock a good laugh.

"Well let's not just stand out here all day," Brock pointed out. "We should go inside and enjoy our last couple hours of the Sinnoh region." Dawn and Angie's eyes glistened. These were going to be Dawn's last moment seeing Ash and Brock for what would probably be quite some time, and it was Angie's last few moments in the Sinnoh region, the place she called home for the first fifteen years of her life. Dawn walked inside her house, followed by Brock, Pikachu and Piplup.

Ash recalled his pokémon and led Angie inside Dawn's house. "By the way, I beat you here," he said. He laughed quietly as Angie started to defend herself as they closed the door behind them.

* * *

"So I guess this is it…" Dawn trailed off. Unable to come to terms with her friends' inevitable departure, she turned and stared off into the lake. This was their last moment together for what she thought might be forever. She turned back towards Ash, Angie and Brock, who were standing in front of her. Beside them was the boat they were travelling to Kanto on. She tried her best to hold a smile, but she could feel the sadness emanating from her.

"I know…" Ash started. "It seems like only yesterday I was searching frantically for a girl with blue hair who had found my Pikachu." Ash could see Dawn smile at the thought before turning towards Pikachu. He saw Pikachu giving a hug to a crying Piplup who obviously didn't want to see the trio breaking up.

"Yeah…" Brock began. "So what are you going to do?" Ash and Angie both looked at Dawn, wondering what she was going to do now that the Grand Festival was over.

Dawn looked up towards the sunset sky, her sadness temporarily replaced with determination. "I'm going to Hoenn." This shocked everyone, but only Angie was really surprised at Dawn's next move. Brock and Ash knew the admiration that Dawn held for May, and it was only natural they she'd follow her path through Hoenn. "I want to learn as much as I can about coordinating." Brock and Ash nodded along, knowing that she'd be alright on her own this time.

"I know you'll…" Ash started, but was cut off by a man's voice over the loudspeakers.

"Attention passengers! Boarding will conclude in six minutes. Six minutes everyone!"

The four friends all looked up towards the speaker and then back towards each other.

"Well, I guess I should say my goodbyes then," Dawn said sadly. She walked up to Brock. "Brock, I don't think I know anybody who can cook as well as you." Dawn reached out her hand and Brock gave her a good handshake. "Have fun in Pewter City."

"Thank you and have fun in Hoenn," Brock told her. "And if you ever get the chance, come visit us sometime."

Dawn nodded and smiled. "I will."

She turned and walked towards Angie, who noticed a tear in Dawn's eye. "Now I know we didn't really travel together, but I hope you have fun on your journey." Dawn held her hand out for Angie, which Angie grabbed and shook. Dawn pulled Angie close and whispered in her ear, "Congratulations." Dawn let go of Angie and took a step back. Angie was left confused by her statement until Dawn winked, which made Angie look down trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

Dawn giggled and continued on to Ash. "So this is our last moment together." The way Dawn worded this disturbed Angie, but she shrugged it off remembering that Dawn had just congratulated her. "I just wanted to thank you for your help," Dawn continued. "If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have made it to the final round of the Grand Festival."

"It wasn't me, it was all you." Ash, being his usual modest self, almost refused to take any credit. "If anyone should be thanking anyone else today, I should be thanking you." Ash could see that Dawn didn't understand what Ash meant, so he tried to refresh the moment in her mind. "After my battle…" Dawn still looked clueless. "With Paul…"

"Oh, it was the least I could do with everything you did for me." She remembered all the fun times they had, like when they traded Buizel and Aipom, when they entered the Wallace Cup and when they… Her thought was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Attention passengers! Two minutes to departure. Two minutes!" The voice said over the loudspeaker.

"I guess this is goodbye Ash," Dawn said, using every ounce of her strength to both hug Ash and hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. Angie was getting jealous at the sight of Dawn being draped all over Ash like this, but she knew this was an emotional moment for them and let it slide.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash replied. He was noticeably upset, but broke off the hug with Dawn. "We have to go. Come visit sometime." Ash raised his hand up as Dawn nodded. She reached up and they gave each other a high-five, something they had become accustomed to doing.

"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu ran up to Dawn and jumped into her arms.

"Oh, Pikachu! Don't think I forgot about you!" Dawn told him and laughed. "You keep Ash out of trouble."

"Pi-Pi-Pi-Pika," Pikachu tried reminding Dawn that it was an impossible task, who laughed in response.

"That's it Pikachu," Ash said grabbing his pokémon before it could say more. He turned towards Dawn. "Take care." Ash and Dawn both smiled, and just like that, Ash, Angie, Brock and Pikachu were making their way onto the boat.

"I'll see you soon!" Dawn shouted as she waved to them, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Piplup-Pip!" Piplup cried as he watched the four of them walk away.

As soon as they stepped onto the boat, the engine whirred to life. Ash, Angie, Brock and Pikachu stood by the railing to the boat waving and shouting words of encouragement as it started to move. Slowly their view of Dawn faded until she was out of sight. Angie could see Ash, Brock and Pikachu feeling upset about saying goodbye so she thought she'd distract them.

"Let's get to our rooms! Race you there!" Angie ran down the stairs as Ash followed her down the stairs with Pikachu on his shoulder as Brock looked on.

"Who would've thought he'd find a girl before I would?" Brock laughed before following Angie and Ash to the sleeping quarters.

* * *

"Well James, would you look at that," a red-haired individual said, staring through her binoculars. "The twerps are splitting up."

"And if I'm not mistaken Jessie, that boat seems to be headed for the Kanto region," James said, staring through his own pair of binoculars. "Meowth?"

"Well den, dat makes two of us," Meowth said before turning up the heat on the burners in their Meowth-shaped hot-air balloon.


	8. Johto?

"Mmph." Angie rolled herself out of bed and landed on the wooden floor with a thump. She looked up at the clock on the dresser, which read 1:04 with PM in smaller letters beside it.

"Great…" She said as she dusted herself off and walked up to her bag.

"Shinx!" Her faithful companion Shinx greeted it's trainer with a smile.

"Hey Shinx," Angie patted her Shinx on its head. "Do you know what today is?" Shinx nodded along. "Today we get to Kanto, and we can meet all kinds of pokémon!" Angie's smile beamed as she squealed in delight.

"Shinx-Shinx!" Shinx jumped up with Angie, who was visibly excited about seeing new pokémon. However, her giddiness would be short-lived as she found herself with a knot in her stomach. The nerves had finally gotten to her. "Shinx?" Shinx sensed something was bothering her trainer.

Angie remained still for a minute before regaining her composure, she turned towards Shinx. "C'mon Shinx," she told her pokémon. "I think I know someone who can help me get over it." She opened the door and led Shinx into the hallway and to the door right across the hall from hers. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Ash?" She whispered, but no response came.

"Shinx?" Shinx asked its trainer. Shinx wondered where Ash and Pikachu could be.

"Don't worry Shinx," Angie tried to say reassuringly, but she shared her pokémon's worry. "Where could Ash be?" She continued to knock on the door. "Ash," Angie practically yelled; the worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah Angie?" A voice replied behind her as she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

Angie turned around and jumped, "Ahhh, Ash, why'd you have to sneak up on me like that?" She felt slightly embarrassed that Ash had seen her worry so much about him, but couldn't hold in the blush that came when she saw his hand on her shoulder. She hesitated for a second before remembering how Ash had made her worry. She crossed her arms and looked away from him. "I…uh…I'm going to look around the ship!" Angie told Ash as she walked away with Shinx behind her, confusing Ash.

"I wonder what's up with her." Ash said to himself as he slid his card key into his cabin door and entered his room. He walked up to Pikachu and nudged him. "Hey Pikachu, guess what…" Ash paused, but Pikachu did not respond, still trying to get some sleep. "Pikachu! We're 10 minutes away!" Pikachu's ears shot up and he jumped into Ash's arms.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu exclaimed. He jumped out of Ash's grasp, ran out the door and turned back to ash. "Pi-Pika-Pi!"

"You want to take a look?" Ash said, as if he could understand Pikachu. "Well then, let's go!" He sighed as he grabbed his bag and the two of them walked out into the hall and up the stairs.

* * *

"Where is that girl?" Ash asked Brock rhetorically as he stared at his pokédex. The two of them, along with Pikachu, were standing beside the ramp to get off the boat watching the people swarm to it like Heracross to honey. "She's ten minutes late…" Ash trailed off as his mind wondered where Angie had gone. Maybe it was his fault she hadn't showed up, but he hadn't done anything wrong… Had he? She did practically storm off and she did put him at fault, but what possibly could he have done wrong? "Ughhh…" Ash sighed as he stared to the ground. Brock took notice of this and tried to distract Ash.

"So Ash," Brock began. "I heard from Angie that you two are going to be travelling Kanto collecting badges again." Ash nodded along, still searching through the crowd of people for Angie. "Well, I think there may be a problem with that." This gathered all of Ash's attention.

"What do you mean Brock?" He couldn't help but feel some worry that something could affect him and Angie travelling together.

"Pika?" Pikachu was also confused by Brock's statement.

"What I mean is that the Indigo League is already into the quarterfinals. So if you go on a journey now, the two of you will have to wait 9 more months until you can battle in the actual conference."

Ash and Pikachu stared at Brock in shock over what he had just said, would they really have to wait so long to compete in a conference again. "Oh…" was all the reply Ash could muster. Luckily for Ash, Brock had already come up with an alternative idea.

"Hey Ash?" Ash and Pikachu looked up with the sadness still evident in their eyes. "Do you remember what we did after you competed in the Indigo Plateau Conference?" Brock was trying to see if Ash could figure out what he was hinting at.

"Uhhh… I think we went to the Orange Archipelago and you stayed with Professor…" Ash saw Brock cringe, knowing he was about to say _her _name, so Ash cleared his throat. "What about that?"

Brock was relieved not to hear her name mentioned again, he never wanted to think about that time ever again. After about a minute, Brock regained his composure and finally answered Ash's question, "Not then, but the next time we travelled together." Ash's eyes widened and his sadness and been replaced with wonder.

"Are you talking about Johto?" Ash asked, Brock nodding in response.

"Yeah, their tournament is only in three months so it'd be an easy solution to waiting another twelve," Brock explained his reasoning.

Ash pondered the idea for a few seconds before asking Pikachu, "What do you think Pikachu?"

"Pi-Kachu!" Pikachu replied with a nod before jumping on to Ash's shoulder.

"I guess that's settled. Now we just need to ask Angie," Ash replied happily before turning to Brock. "Thanks Brock, will you be joining us?" Ash secretly wished Brock wouldn't join them on their journey, but he felt that since it was Brock's idea, he might as well ask him.

"Nah, I think I should take a break from travelling and start taking care of more pokémon. I haven't forgotten about being a top pokémon breeder."

"Well suit yourself," Ash paused as he glanced at his pokédex. "Where is Angie? She's now almost twenty minutes late." As soon as he spoke these words, he spotted Angie within the remnants of the crowd who still hadn't gotten off the boat. "Angie! We're over here." He noticed she was holding a glass container in her hands.

"Hey Ash, Brock, I would've been here on time, but Nurse Joy had to find me one of these," Angie said as she held up her glass container which held her egg in it. Ash looked at it closely; it was an egg case nearly identical to the one he had kept his Phanpy egg in, except with a green lid instead of a yellow one. Angie looked over at Ash's pokédex and saw just how late she was.

"So let's get going," she said as she ran down the loading ramp and onto the harbour to take her first glimpse of Kanto. Ash was relieved to see that Angie had seemingly forgotten about what happened in the hallway half an hour ago.

Ash, Brock and Pikachu chuckled as Angie ran down the concrete pier and stopped; looking at everything in front of her. There were concrete buildings, trees and a sign which read "Welcome to Terracotta Town." Ash could see the sign as well and remembered the time when he and May tied at the Terracotta Town Contest Festival. He promptly reached into his pocket and clutched his half of the ribbon they shared.

"This could be a long hour," Brock pointed out. Pikachu sighed before nodding his head in agreement.

Ash let go of the ribbon and got an idea. "Maybe not," Ash said before running down the ramp with Pikachu towards Angie. Brock could hear Ash yell something to Angie as he ran past her, and could see Angie run after him shouting something about not letting him win.

"Agh…" Brock groaned as he realized he was left behind. "Now I have to run, don't I?" Brock asked himself before running after Ash and Angie.

* * *

Ash, Angie and Brock were walking down a path, with Pikachu, Shinx and Happiny following close behind. Angie was staring at all the scenery that surrounded them, while Brock and Ash focused on walking along, knowing that they were approaching an all too familiar crossroads.

In little to no time at all, the six of them approached a fork in the road. Brock and Ash quickly stopped, followed by Angie and their pokémon. There was one path going left, and one path going right. A sign was positioned right beside where the path split, with an arrow pointing in each direction. One arrow had the words "Pallet Town" painted underneath it, while the other arrow had the words "Pewter City" painted. Angie could feel some tension in the air and decided to break it up.

"Hey you two," she told Ash and Brock. "We should keep going." Angie wasn't aware of Brock's upcoming departure from the group.

"Well, if you insist Angie," Ash told her before turning to Brock. "Until we meet again." Ash held out his hand and Brock grabbed his hand and shook it. Pikachu and Happiny ran and hugged each other, with the latter now realizing they were splitting up. Angie and Shinx just watched the two trainers, unsure of what they had just seen. Neither of them knew what was going on.

"Yeah," Brock said. "You take care now too." He turned to Angie. "Don't let Ash get into any more trouble than he already has." Ash rolled his eyes as Brock laughed, while Angie started to piece together what was happening.

"Hold up!" Angie broke up the farewell. "Are you not coming back to Pallet Town with us?" She had thought that the three of them were going to travel through Kanto together, although she didn't mind if only she and Ash travelled instead. The thought made her cheeks glow a faint red; however neither Ash nor Brock seemed to notice.

"No, I should get back to Pewter City," he tried explaining. "It's time I focused more on becoming a top pokémon breeder."

"Yeah," Ash butted in. "And I bet you want to see if your mom turned your old Gym into a water-type Gym again, don't you?" Pikachu, Brock and Ash shared a laugh at the comment.

Angie looked up at Ash, realizing what his words meant. "Hold up... Again." Angie turned back to Brock and confronted him. "You were a gym leader?"

"Uhhh… Yeah… Umm…" He answered nervously. Ash could clearly see Brock's nervousness about being confronted and decided to answer for him.

"Yeah, he used to be the Pewter City Gym Leader; he even gave me my first badge." Angie was surprised she had been travelling with a Gym Leader for the last day. "But he gave up the position to his little brother when he travelled with us so he could follow his dream." Brock nodded along, while Angie thought about what else happened to Ash before their paths had crossed.

"Pi-Pika-Pi!" Pikachu jumped up on to Ash's shoulder and raised a paw into the air, remembering their encounter over five years ago.

"So," Angie wondered. "I guess that means I'll be battling your brother for my first badge too." Ash could see the fiery determination in her eyes, but knew that she still didn't know they were going to travel Johto instead.

"Ummm…" Brock didn't want to be the one to tell Angie she wasn't travelling Kanto so he thought carefully about his words. "For your first Kanto badge," he put all the emphasis on Kanto. "I think I could take back the Gym for one battle, it'd be an honour considering you tied with Ash back at the Academy." Angie remembered back to that battle between their rented Monferno and Raichu and smiled at the thought.

"Sounds good, Mr. Gym Leader," she said in an overly fancy and sarcastic tone. "Until then," Angie said as she started walking towards Pallet Town with Ash following behind, both of them waving. She couldn't help but maintain her newly-invoked curiosity about Ash's past.

"Goodbye Brock," Ash said, knowing this would be the final time they saw each other for a while.

"Later you two," Brock said as he turned and walked towards Pewter City. "I still don't know how that dense Ash actually got a girl before I did?" He mumbled to himself before he was interrupted by a familiar pain.

"Cro-ho-ho-ho," A purple pokémon chuckled as it popped out of its poké ball and quickly stabbed Brock with its Poison Jab.

"Agh… Why Croagunk? Why..." Brock said as he fell to the ground.

* * *

"Looks like dat big twerp is splittin' up with da other twerps," Meowth told his friends, who were also watching the goodbye through their binoculars.

"Good riddance," Jessie snarled. She had been sick of him for a long time, he had no worthwhile pokémon to steal and he always got in the way of Team Rocket's snatching of Pikachu.

"I presume we're following the two lovesick twerps?" James asked his red-haired partner.

"Until the day we catch that Pikachu," she shouted, angry with herself that it had already taken them so long to catch one single pokémon. "Now, let's go!"

* * *

"So Ash," Angie asked as they continued the march to Pallet Town, with Shinx and Pikachu walking alongside them.

"Yeah Angie?" He replied.

"What happened?" In the last few minutes, Angie had become very interested in Ash's previous adventures and figured now was a time as good as any other.

"What do you mean?" As per usual, Ash needed a full explanation before understanding what she meant. Pikachu and Shinx also gave Angie a confused look.

"I mean…" She stumbled trying to find the right words. "Your journey, everything that's happened to you during it. I want to know everything." She grabbed his hand, which caused the both of them to blush.

Ash knew this would be a long story, but figured that pointing it out wouldn't do any good. He also realized that if he told Angie, maybe they could become closer. "Okay, well it all started when I was late to pick my pokémon."

"Maybe I do need to keep you out of trouble," Angie joked as Ash just sighed.

"Anyways," Ash tried to keep the focus on his storytelling. "When I got to Professor Oak's lab, I found out that all 3 starter pokémon were taken. But lucky for me, he had one extra pokémon."

Angie knew which pokémon he was referring to, "Pikachu, right?"

"That's right," Ash said as Pikachu jumped on to his shoulder. "Pikachu and I have been together since the very beginning, but we didn't always used to get along. I had to earn Pikachu's trust."

"Really?" Angie was surprised by Ash's comment to say the least. The inseparable bond the two obviously shared, it was impossible to think of Pikachu as ever being disobedient towards Ash.

"Yeah…" Ash replied shyly, he was reminded of all the rookie mistakes he made in his first couple days. "He even laughed at me when I failed to catch a Pidgey, and again when a Rattata went rummaging through my bag. It wasn't until I tried to protect him from a flock of Spearow that we finally saw eye-to-eye."

"Chaaa..." Pikachu let out a happy sound as he nuzzled his cheek against Ash's, who laughed happily.

Angie listened to all the thoughts that flowed into her mind. "Did he really care for pokémon that much? Even if they didn't listen to him? He's really something, isn't he?" She blushed as these thoughts consumed her mind, but Ash continued his story.

"Once Pikachu saw me defending it, he jumped in front and shocked the entire flock." Angie had to resist the urge to hug Ash, just to make sure he didn't stop telling his story. "But that wasn't the only great thing that happened that day." He sighed as he stared upwards. "That was the day I met one of my very first friends." His eye glistened, which caught Angie's attention.

"And who would that be, Brock or Dawn?" Angie asked speculating about who could've made such an impression on Ash, but before he could reply, the two of them arrived at Pallet Town and stopped. She let go of Ash's hand and gazed at the town. She could see the houses, the dirt path, and what seemed like a laboratory at the top of a hill and thought it was a cute, quaint little town.

Ash couldn't help but look at Angie, who was looking around as if she were in a new world. He could see just how cute she looked right then. He thought about how travelling with her would be, and how he'd have to take a step back and have her learn the way he did; through experience. He shook his head, realizing Angie had asked him a question. "Neither," was his reply.

Angie's head turned from the town towards him. "Well then who?" She wasn't sure if she should continue asking him, but she was too curious to let it go.

As Ash was about to answer, he recognized a figure sitting on the porch of his house. The person on the porch immediately got up, recognizing Ash as well, and ran towards him. "ASH!" The person yelled.

Angie noticed this and was about to ask him if he knew this person, but was interrupted by Ash.

"Her."

* * *

**So, if you don't remember the Orange Islands, the "her" Brock didn't want to hear is Professor Ivy. Anybody else remember when Brock rejoined the group? Yeah, thought I'd throw that in. Also, when Pikachu nuzzles Ash, imagine it just like during Lucario and the Mystery of Mew when Pikachu and Ash were reunited. And I know emotions weren't really placed all throughout, but I think it wasn't completely ignored either. **

**As for the conclusion of this chapter, who is it that Ash was talking about? And how would Angie react to them? Would Ash eventually tell Angie that they were going to travel Johto instead? All good questions indeed.**

**Reviews are much appreciated, I would like some constructive criticism, espicially for this longer chapter, which may have a few more errors than the last one purely based on length.**


	9. Familiar Faces

**Here's the next chapter! And happy holidays! :D**

* * *

Angie couldn't move; she could only watch as Ash was greeted by this girl. She had orange hair tied in a side ponytail and was wearing a yellow sleeveless top with matching shorts. "Who is she?" she wondered, before purposely eavesdropping on their reunion.

"Ash!" The orange-haired girl ran towards Ash with incredible speed only to stop right in front of him. "A year and a half, and not one phone call? Hmph." She turned away from Ash somewhat angrily.

"Uh, I guess I'm sorry," Ash said, watching as his Pikachu jumped off his shoulders and into the girl's arms. "Traitor…" he thought.

"Oh hi Pikachu, you're still as cute as ever!" She said as she rubbed the fur on top of his head. She turned back towards Ash and glared at him. "You guess you're sorry? Either you are sorry or you're not. Are you?"

Pikachu sighed while Ash scratched the back of his head. "It really is like old times, isn't it?" He thought to himself before focusing on her question.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry." He grinned. "I'm sorry that you worry too much. I mean relax Mist; I'm here now, aren't I?"

"So her name's Mist?" Angie wondered while remaining quiet, observing the conversation that was occurring in front of her.

"I guess…" She took a step towards him, opening her arms to give him a hug. He mimicked her and when they were inches apart, she punched him in the arm. "But you won't be for long!"

"Ow, ahhh!" Ash yelled as he hid behind Angie, hoping she would protect him.

"Wait a minute," Misty said, finally noticing the person standing in front of Ash. "You must be Dawn! I'm sorry I couldn't watch you at the Grand Festival, but this moron here," she pointed at Ash. "Didn't tell me about it until the day before and I couldn't get prepared and-"

"Uhh, Misty?" Ash tried to stop her before she made a bigger fool of herself.

"Don't interrupt me Ash! I'm not through with you yet." She yelled at Ash before she turned back to Angie. "As I was saying Dawn…"

"Misty?" Angie interrupted her, worried that maybe Misty was just a nickname.

"What is it Dawn?" Misty asked her.

"I'm not Dawn." Angie said trying to hold back her laughter while taking a glance at Pikachu, who was already laughing at the whole thing.

"Wait, what?" Misty looked completely shocked at this new information. "Well, I guess your hair is more green than it is blue… But if you're not Dawn, then who are you?" She glared at Ash, who took a step forward and introduced the two.

"Misty, this is Angie. Angie, Misty." He said, pointing his arm to each girl when he said their respective names.

"Nice to meet you," Angie said, holding her hand out for Misty.

"Likewise," Misty replied, her face blushing a deep red from embarrassment, before grabbing Angie's hand and shaking it. Once they released their handshake, Misty turned her attention back towards Ash. "Why didn't you try to stop me before I made a fool of myself?"

"It was bound to happen eventually…" Ash was interrupted with a punch in the gut.

"Well, I guess it's good to see you again," Misty added in a nice and sincere tone, surprising Angie and Pikachu and causing Ash to sigh.

"You guess it's good? Either it is good or it's not," Ash said, purposely mocking what Misty had said to him earlier. "Is it good?"

"Ugh, you are impossible Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled as she stormed down the path and into Ash's house leaving Ash to laugh in triumph.

Angie stared at Ash as he watched Misty walk away, she was afraid that maybe she had just witnessed the end of a friendship. "Ash, what just happened?"

Ash suddenly realized Angie had just watched that entire fight and understood her confusion. "Don't worry about it, that's always how it's been between Misty and me." He turned to Angie and gave her a reassuring look, making her blush in response. She had to fight the urge to kiss his cheek as she gazed into his eyes, so she hid herself in his shoulder. Ash blushed before he felt his stomach rumble. "C'mon, let's get inside. You're probably as hungry as I am!" He grabbed her hand before he led her inside the house.

Unbeknownst to Ash and Angie was the fact that a certain gym leader was watching them. As soon as she had re-entered the house, she ran towards the window and watched the two make their way inside. Watching Angie head rest on Ash's shoulder, and the subsequent blush that appeared on his face bothered her. "Is Ash actually blushing?" she wondered silently. She felt her muscles tighten and her face redden, but not of embarrassment. She was jealous, the same type of jealousy she felt when she witnessed Melody giving him a "traditional welcome kiss" and again when either Bianca or Latias, she still wasn't sure which person was responsible, kissed him on the cheek before they left Alto Mare.

"Maybe I have less time than I thought…" she thought before rushing over to the door.

* * *

"Welcome back!"

Ash, Angie and Pikachu were taken aback by the volume they were greeted with and Ash and Angie realized they were still holding hands. Breaking apart their hands with blushes on their faces, they turned to face the people around them. Ash recognized his mom and they both recognized Professor Oak and Misty.

"Hey everybody, sorry we're late-" Ash started.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so glad you're back," Ash's mother, Delia, said as she grabbed her son and squeezed him with a hug that knocked the wind out of his lungs. The other people in the room just stood back and watched the reunion between Ash and his mother.

"Ah, I missed...you too mom…but can you please…let me breathe?" Ash said while gasping for air.

"Sorry about that hun," Delia said as she broke her crushing embrace with her son. "It's just been a year and a half and I missed my baby-"

"MOM!" Ash whined as the group of people surrounding him, along with Pikachu, shared a laugh.

"Sorry again sweetie," Delia smiled at her son before turning to the girl beside him and gasping. "And is this your girlfriend?"

Angie and Ash's faces turned a deep red and they turned their head away from each other. "Girlfriend? I guess so…but we never really made anything official…" Ash thought while he was struggling to conjure a reply to his mother.

"Girlfriend?" Angie thought, "He'd be lucky to have me for a girlfriend, that's for sure." Angie chuckled before realizing that there were still three people staring at the two of them. Lucky for her, nobody noticed her small chuckle.

"Girlfriend?" Misty scoffed at the idea of them being together. "If anybody's going to be Ash's girlfriend, it's me. Besides, Ash has always been too dense to even know what a girlfriend is…" Misty laughed at her own thoughts before realizing she had become the center of attention with her outburst. She stopped and took a step back, her face all red.

"What's so funny about that?" Angie yelled at Misty before covering her own mouth and turning away out of embarrassment, realizing she had said those words out loud. Ash stared at her, not sure what to think of her defensive remark before turning back to his mother.

"Mom, Professor Oak, this is Angie. Angie, meet Professor Oak and my mom," Ash introduced Angie to the people who hadn't yet met her.

"Nice to meet you both," Angie said with a blush, reaching her hand out to Ash's mother and shaking her hand, before doing the same to Professor Oak. "So I heard you gave Ash his very first pokémon, is it true?" Ash would normally have been upset about Angie not believing him, but he was distracted as he received a hug from behind him.

"I'm actually really glad you're back," he heard a familiar voice whisper into his ear and instantly felt shivers down his spine.

"Misty? Uh…you never hug me…are you okay?" He knew it was Misty, but why Misty had her arms wrapped around his chest he couldn't understand. For as long as he had known Misty, she had always thought of him as stubborn and overconfident and it showed no signs of changing. Even a couple minutes ago they had gotten into a fight just like old times, but now she was embracing him for some reason.

"I'm better than okay," she replied, "I'm fantastic." She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed. She knew she was being a little too forward with Ash, but with this Angie girl here, she felt that there was no time to waste, especially with Angie and Pikachu being distracted by Delia and Professor Oak.

Ash was nervously trying to struggle out of Misty's grip, but to no avail. He couldn't come up with a reason as to why Misty was acting so peculiar. He gave up trying to fight Misty, something he was never good at doing, and just wondered what Misty could be thinking.

"Ummm…are you sick or something?" was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with.

"Actually Ash, I was just thinking-" Misty said in an uncharacteristically sweet and shy tone before she was interrupted.

"Hey!" Angie yelled angrily, causing Misty to release her grip on Ash before Delia and Professor Oak could see what was happening.

Angie, who was in a deep conversation about the benefits of working at a pokémon daycare before catching a glimpse of Misty latching onto Ash, was staring at Misty with anger and confusion in her eyes. She was already upset from Misty's laughter when Ash's mother mistook her for his girlfriend, but now…she was furious.

She looked around for anything that could distract Ash from Misty, but she failed to find anything that would do the trick. She could feel the eyes of Ash's mother, Professor Oak and Pikachu watching her and she scrambled to find a way to break the silence.

"I'll come see ya, the next time I get to Solaceon Town…I know; we'll battle."

These words echoed through Angie's head; they were only a few of the words Ash had said to her on the last night of the Summer Academy and seemed like the perfect idea to grab Ash's attention away from Misty's apparent advances.

"You promised me something Ash, and you haven't lived up to it yet," she implied to him.

Everybody besides Ash had no idea what she was talking about; each had their own ideas about what Ash might have promised Angie, but they all just stared at Ash wondering if their own ideas were right.

Ash could see the eyes of everybody on him, but truth be told; he wasn't sure what Angie could've been talking about either.

"I did, didn't I…?" Ash stalled for a couple seconds before giving up hope on remembering his promise to Angie. "What exactly did I promise you again?" He scratched the back of his head; he felt bad about asking her what he had apparently promised, but he knew it was the easiest way to find out.

Angie laughed as if she already knew Ash wouldn't remember. "Silly Ash, you really forgot we were going to have a battle?"

Ash gave Angie a confused look before remembering back to that final night at the Summer Academy where he had indeed said that they would have a battle. He snapped back into reality and gave Angie a nod.

"I'm not too surprised though; I thought you'd forget an unwinnable battle," Angie told Ash with a large grin on her face.

"Angie sure has a lot of confidence claiming she'll win a battle with my Ash like that," his mother whispered to Professor Oak and Misty.

"Maybe a little too much confidence…" Misty whispered to herself before focusing on Ash and Angie's conversation. She was still angry that Angie had interrupted her time with Ash.

"I think you've got it backwards, I'm gonna win!" Ash said; realizing their Summer Academy rivalry was finally being reignited.

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and agreed with his trainer.

"Oh please, you'll be lucky to even damage my pokémon," Angie laughed in response.

"Oh yeah! Says who?"

"Yeah? Says me!" The two of them took a step towards each other and locked their eyes. Ash tried his best to stare down Angie with fiery determination and confidence, but he couldn't deny that Angie looked cute when she was being fierce. Angie, on the other hand, fought the urge to break their stares and hug the boy standing across from her for a couple seconds before regaining her composure and mentally preparing for their upcoming battle.

Misty, Delia and Professor Oak could notice the intensity between the two fifteen-year-olds while Pikachu just sighed. This was hardly the first time he had seen these two argue, and he knew it wouldn't be the last, but he was sure that their competitiveness was part of the reason they liked each other.

* * *

**Sorry for how short this chapter may seem, but the next chapter will have substantially more length to it, I'm talking a few thousand words; larger than the rest of the chapters. And it will feature the long-awaited battle between Ash and Angie...using their own pokémon this time.**

**Please review, mean or nice it's just good to get some feedback.**

**Also, if you have the time take a look at my other story. Soon there will be more, including a chaptered story for all you _Shipping fans (Don't want to reveal it too soon) and a couple other stories (One-shots possibly among others). Sooner rather than later, the number of stories I have posted will increase, but I won't neglect this story, believe you me.**


	10. Angie vs Ash!

**Hello all the readers who have helped me along my fanfiction journey. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Your reviews are what keep me going...**

**DISCLAIMER (I've forgotten these...haven't I?): I do not own pokémon...because if I did, Farfetch'd would have an evolution and Misty would not have left the show... (I still cry when I watch that episode)**

**Exams delayed this chapter and even shortened it, but it shouldn't be too bad. Read on!**

**Also, character ages which I realize I've forgotten:**

**Ash - Late 15 year old.**

**Angie - Early 15 year old.**

**And for the Misty arc of chapters, Misty - 16 and a half.**

**Also, for timeline purposes, Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto took 3 years combined. Hoenn and Battle Frontier took a year and a half combined. And Sinnoh took a year. Now let's get on with it.**

* * *

Ash and Angie were led behind Ash's house, revealing a soft dirt area resembling a battlefield. Ash immediately ran up to his spot on the battlefield and awaited his opponent to do the same. Misty, Delia and Professor Oak each took their seats on a bench planted firmly in the ground beside the battlefield. Angie just looked on, not believing what was happening in front of her. She was finally going to have her battle with Ash...and not with a rented pokémon this time. She made her way over to the same bench that her 'audience' was sitting on. She took her backpack off, unzipped it and pulled her recently received egg out.

"Hmph…" Misty sneered mentally at Angie. "She doesn't even keep her egg in her arms like I do. What could Ash possibly see in her…? Wait I know…Nothing!" She grinned as she turned her attention away from Angie.

"Ms. Ketchum?" Angie asked. "Can you please hold on to this egg for me? I don't want to leave it lying on the ground."

"Why of course dear," Mrs. Ketchum replied. "And you can call me Delia."

"Thank you," she replied as she handed the egg into the outstretched arms of Delia.

"So Angie," Misty interrupted the duo. "Do you know what pokémon that egg will hatch into yet?"

"Actually I don't, my father gave it to me right before I left on my journey, but I guess that's part of the pokémon adventure."

"Sounds like Ash is rubbing off on you," Professor Oak noticed. "That's sound exactly like something he would say." Misty just sneered at this thought, although she knew it was true. Ash was always looking forward to a pokémon adventures and she seemed to feel the same way. Angie was going to be trouble for her; she could feel it in her bones.

"Angie!" Angie turned around to notice Ash standing by the battlefield waiting for her. "Are you ready yet or are you afraid?" Ash chuckled.

"I'm ready to watch you lose anytime Ash!" Angie replied, running onto her side of the field.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Ash fumbled for a comeback, leaving Angie to laugh at her triumph. He turned towards his Pikachu, who was now sighing at Angie and Ash's heated exchange of words from his perch atop Ash's shoulder. "Oh man, you ready Pikachu?"

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu nodded as he jumped onto the battlefield.

"Well, I know you know who I'm gonna use! Go Shinx!" Angie said as she tossed a poké ball onto the field. It opened, releasing a white light which materialized into the Flash pokémon.

"Professor Oak, I've never seen that pokémon before…What is it?" Misty asked with curiosity.

"It's a Shinx; it's an electric type that uses its fur to dazzle its opponents with bright light." Professor Oak explained. "You've probably never seen it before because it's only native to the Sinnoh region."

"I guess that means I shouldn't battle her for Ash…" Misty thought to herself. "Wait, I am a gym leader, aren't I? And I do have a couple of surprises on my team…" Misty smirked as she turned her attention back to the battlefield.

"Alright Shinx, let's use Quick Attack!" Angie said.

Shinx charged towards Pikachu at a high speed, leaving a white trail behind it.

"Pikachu, dodge and use Quick Attack as well," Ash ordered.

Pikachu leaped over Shinx and landed behind it, before turning back towards Shinx and charging towards it with a white trail streaking behind him. Shinx, befuddled over where Pikachu was, turned around only to be struck by Pikachu and to slide across the field.

"Now Shinx, use Crunch!"

Upon command, Shinx latched onto Pikachu's tail, causing it to scream in pain.

"PIKA!"

"You can do it Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the ground!"

Pikachu's tail glowed white and slammed into the ground with Shinx still latched on. Pikachu leaped back towards Ash and waited to see if Shinx could get up. Shinx remained on the ground for several seconds before Angie spoke up.

"C'mon Shinx, don't give up, use Spark!"

Shinx obeyed, getting up slowly before charging toward Pikachu, surrounding itself in blue electricity.

"Pikachu! Volt Tackle!"

"Pikapikapikapika…" Pikachu charged towards Shinx, coating himself in golden electricity. The two pokémon collided, each trying to push past the other. The air crackled as a tornado of blue and gold electricity was sent towards the sky, unintentionally destroying a certain balloon.

"Why did we get hit? We didn't even do anything to capture Pikachu yet," James complained.

"Dat twerp just got lucky, dat's all," Meowth retorted.

"I'm gonna get that Pikachu for this," Jessie screamed furiously, pointing to her hair which was standing on end from the electricity.

"You might have to wait a while because…" James paused, waiting for his partners were in sync with him.

"…We're blasting off again!" the trio yelled as they flew into the distance.

Back on the battlefield, Shinx and Pikachu were still trying to overpower each other. Their bodies were against one another, each trying to push through the other.

"C'mon Pikachu, you can do it!" Ash said, trying to encourage his pokémon on.

"Don't give up Shinx! I know you can win this one!" Angie yelled, hoping her pokémon could hear her.

Suddenly, the attacks exploded where they met, sending Pikachu and Shinx flying towards their respective trainers. Both lay on the ground for several moments, struggling to get up.

"Pikachu!"

"Shinx!"

Pikachu regained his footing and stood up, giving his trainer a "Pika-Pi!" in the process. Shinx temporarily stood up, before collapsing with swirls in his eyes.

"Shinx!" Angie yelled as she ran towards her pokémon. She kneeled so she could scoop him into her arms and got back onto her feet. "You did a great job Shinx; I'll get you healed as soon as I can." She pointed her poké ball at Shinx and recalled her pokémon. She turned her attention to Ash who was already giving his pokémon a congratulatory hug.

"Pikachu, you did amazing!" Ash said as he hugged his pokémon tightly. Pikachu gasped for air, letting out a soft and barely audible "Pi…ka…" Ash quickly let go of his best friend and placed him on his shoulder, receiving a happy sigh in return.

Ash turned his attention towards Angie, who was now standing in the middle of the battlefield waiting for him. As he walked towards Angie, he noticed that she was staring at the ground, using the shadow to mask her eyes. Once he was standing beside her, he heard her mumble something.

"What?" Ash asked.

Angie cleared her throat, making sure she kept her gaze away from Ash. "I guess you won…" Angie managed to whisper. From the sound of her voice, Ash felt that the loss was bothering Angie and inside it was bothering him too.

"Angie?" Ash tilted her head up, but as soon as Angie's eyes caught Ash's, she smirked before wrapping her arms around him and letting out a soft giggle.

"Hahaha, Gotcha!" Angie's cheeks reddened as she laughed. Ash was caught off-guard but returned the hug, not caring anymore that they weren't alone and his cheeks were crimson. "You know you may have won, but I'll beat you one day!" Angie vowed.

Ash laughed sarcastically, trying to irk Angie into one of those heated arguments they were so good at. Unfortunately, and yet at the same time fortunately, Angie didn't fall into his trap; instead Angie just stood there hugging Ash, making him realize they were having a serious moment for a change. "I'd believe it, you were really good and it could just have easily ended in a draw."

Angie adjusted her arms so that they were looking eye-to-eye without breaking the hug. She stared in disbelief and studied Ash's eyes for lies, but found none; he really felt Angie was good enough to tie with a semi-finalist in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Ash just froze however, his face was just an inch or two away from Angie's and he could feel his cheeks blush more intensely than he could ever recall.

Unfortunately for Ash, Angie caught a glimpse of the three witnesses still sitting on the bench. She quickly moved her hands to her sides and forced herself to look at a tree in a field not too far away. Ash took notice of this and turned towards a tree in the opposite direction; hoping to avoid any squeals and forced confessions.

However, there were no squeals; instead there was near-silence. Delia was whispering about how much her boy had grown up to Professor Oak, who himself was wondering more about the pokémon's condition rather than the trainers. On the other side of Delia however, sat Misty.

Misty's face was as red as a Scizor's armour, while her fists were trembling with indescribable anger; seeing Angie only an inch from Ash's face burned her inside. That wasn't all that was troubling her though; she couldn't understand why Ash didn't push her away…or at least why he didn't act all nervously dense like he was supposed to be. She felt a sharp pain in her chest; Did he really like this new girl more than her? Did something already happen between these two? The chest pain intensified at the mere thought, but she ignored it. She unclenched her fists and stared at the ground, silently vowing to find out everything there was to know between the so-called couple of Angie and Ash, which was looking more real with each passing minute.

* * *

"Oh man that was good," a full Ash sighed; content with his mother's cooking like always.

After the battle between Ash and Angie, the group visited the ranch housing all of Ash's pokémon, leaving Pikachu behind so he could catch up with some old friends, and after disposing of Team Rocket there, they met up with Gary Oak, prepared for dinner and ate. However, as always, Ash forgot to chew and almost ended up choking four times…all in all, a pretty normal day.

Angie managed to pull together a smile, but it quickly faded. For what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day, Misty was sitting right in between Ash and Angie, and was focusing a rather large amount of attention on Ash. Angie knew exactly why this bothered her, though she'd never admit it. She was jealous…immensely jealous. All day, Ash and Misty had been chatting back and forth about things that had been happening to them since Ash left for Sinnoh, and it was driving Angie insane.

"Nice to know some things still haven't changed," Misty joked, poking at Ash's enlarged belly.

"Well only one thing's really changed…" Misty's eyes narrowed as they turned to Ash's. Angie's ears perked up and she turned her head in Ash's direction.

"C'mon Ash…tell her now…don't make me worry even more…" Angie thought; wondering where Ash was heading with that.

"The truth is…" he paused for dramatic effect, earning a slap on his shoulder courtesy of Misty.

"JUST SPILL IT!" she crossed her arms trying to look more serious.

"Ever since you left…" he again paused for dramatic effect, blocking the second slap from reaching his shoulder. "…I've been so much more successful. I mean top four in the Sinnoh region, best I got with you was top sixteen." Ash joked, this time earning both a glare and a punch in the shoulder, both from Misty. "Ow!"

"Serves you right." Misty quickly glanced at the kitchen door before reaffixing her glare towards Ash, "I spent a good three years of my life following you because your Pikachu toasted my bike and I decide to help you and you respond by saying you did better without me! The nerve…" Misty reached her hand up to slap Ash's shoulder again, yet was held back by some force.

"Don't kill him!" Angie said, holding Misty's hand in her clutches.

Misty pulled her hand away from Angie and turned back towards Ash, who had a rather large grin plastered on his face. "You're lucky there's a witness," she mumbled into his ear.

Angie sighed, watching Misty and Ash interact…she had had enough. "I'll be back," she mumbled as she walked into the kitchen, leaving behind a smirking Misty and a confused Ash.

"Should I go after her?" Ash asked; still completely oblivious to Angie's jealousy.

Misty flinched at the idea of Ash running after Angie…it wasn't going to happen if she got her way. "Nah, she's just excited to go on her own journey…" Misty sighed while standing up; stretching out her legs.

"Wha? Not you too…Ugh," Ash complained, pulling his knees in with his arms and cradling into the fetal position. "Why does nobody love me!" Ash started whining and pretending as if he was crying. "I feel like B-B-B-Brock!"

"You've definitely gotten funnier since you left for Sinnoh," Misty pointed out while suppressing her oncoming laughter into a small giggle. "But you should probably just let her cool off." Misty sat back down on the couch and looked into Ash's eyes hoping to see some relief, but there was none; just worry. With that sight, her mind started to wander, "It wasn't just an act, was it?…He likes her…he really likes her…and she likes him, well that part was obvious…but it's not fair! Why is he so…un-dense now and not five years ago! Is that even a word? ARGH!" She mentally shouted, covering it up with a warm, yet false smile.

Ash turned away from Misty and towards the kitchen door. He wanted to go after her, but he trusted Misty when it came to girls… "I've got it!" he exclaimed maybe a bit too loudly as Misty nearly took a tumble off the couch. "Can you find out what's bothering Angie?" he said; his hands clasped together as if he was praying. He watched as Misty's face turned red with anger, then into a look full of guilt and then into an 'I-guess-I-have-to' look.

"I guess I can…" she said reluctantly, pulling herself up out of the soft pillow cushions of the couch. "But you owe me one," she unconsciously gave Ash a wink as she walked into the kitchen.

* * *

**Ash vs. Angie. Score 1-0 for Ash. And Misty getting between the happy couple, much to Angie's discretion and Ash's obliviousness. One question! Why hasn't Ash told Angie about Johto yet? Good question. Wait and see.**

**Sooooo! A possible upcoming cat fight? Misty and Angie confrontation... :D Should be interesting. I hope this incredibly intelligent author continues his story...oh wait! That's me! (I'm so modest, I know)**

**Sorry for the short chapter and the delay, blame exams.**

**Please R & R, any feedback is useful. And respond to my poll if you please, the winner will garner more attention to it from me (probably one-shots, but maybe also throw more hints into other chaptered stories)**


	11. Finally On Our Own!

**Having your computer taken from you sort of cuts into your writing time...seriously. But it's all good for now, but maybe not for long, so I'm so sorry. This is way overdue. Anyways, here it is, Chapter 11.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon nor will I ever own pokémon.**

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually going after her," Misty mumbled, walking through the kitchen towards Delia, who was washing the dishes dirtied from dinner. "Delia, have you seen Angie?" she asked; her voice dry and emotionless.

"I think I saw her walk into her room dear," Delia explained without averting her eyes from her dishes. Misty nodded and took multiple steps towards Angie's room before hesitating a step or two before the doorway.

"I don't know if I should go in there…" Misty thought, turning her body back towards the living room before sighing. "But I promised Ash…" she groaned, pulling herself into Angie's room.

It was a quaint, little room with only a bed, a bedside table and a window; the walls coated with a dark green paint, matching Angie's hair to a tee. From where Misty was standing, she could see Angie was cuddling up in her blankets with her egg and her lips seemed to be moving. Misty took another step towards Angie, careful not to garner Angie's attention, and started eavesdropping on Angie's hushed words.

"…and when you hatched, I wanted you to see us happy together," Angie whispered to her egg; gently stroking the firm shell of her egg. "But he hasn't so much as noticed me since that battle, it's always been Misty, Misty, Misty…" she sighed; still not having noticed Misty, who was feeling a confliction of emotions. In a way, she felt proud that she had gotten all of Ash's attention, but she also felt guilty for hurting Angie in what she knew was a very personal and sensitive spot. "It's like he's already forgotten what he said to me just a couple nights ago…" she sighed.

"What'd he say to you?" Misty blurted out, covering her mouth in embarrassment after revealing her presence. "Oh-I'm sorry-I didn't mean to-I'll just go…" Misty said sheepishly, taking a step towards the kitchen.

"Wait!" Angie shouted, drawing Misty back into her temporary room. "Were you there the entire time?" As she watched Misty nervously nod, she motioned towards the bed; Misty nervously sat down and looked towards Angie. "Misty, I-"

"Look Angie," Misty interrupted. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Ash just asked me to check up on you and so I went."

Angie's eyes lit up and her lips refused to hold back her oncoming smile. "He was worried about me?" she asked shyly. "I should've known…I really should give him more credit than I have been…" she finished her discussion to herself, much to Misty's confusion.

"Angie," Misty started; as curious as she was, this was a subject awkward to ask out of the blue. "I've been meaning to ask you since the battle, are you like his girlfriend?" Misty shuddered at her words; not only because she wished it wasn't true, but she also sounded like her sisters for a minute.

"Well…" Angie hesitated, much to Misty's joy. "I don't really know…I mean we haven't really talked about being called boyfriend and girlfriend yet…" she trailed off, while Misty maintained her curiosity for the truth.

"So did he just fry your bike and now you're following him until he pays you back?" Misty asked, attempting to compare her to Angie. "Because if you are, here's a news flash: he'll never pay you back."

"No, no, no," Angie denied, waving her arms in front of her face and shaking her head. "It's nothing like that," she sighed; her mind playing the mental video of the night they spent together under the stars. "Right after we confessed to liking each other, I asked him if I could come with him and then he said yes and that's that."

While Angie was staring into space at the memory, Misty was stunned; did Ash actually confess to liking her? "Y-You're kidding me, right? A-Ash is way too dense to like anything but pokémon…" she pleaded, praying Angie was just joking.

"Nope," Angie said happily. "At first that's what I thought too, but then he visited me and now we're travelling together." She let out an uncharacteristic squeal and faced the wall away from Misty to hide her blush. "I was even beginning to think he'd forgotten about me too, but he sure proved me wrong…and that's something I don't admit to very often."

"NO!" Misty yelled, grabbing Angie's shoulders and getting right in front of her face. "I don't believe you! How could he just change like that?"

"Are you okay?" Angie asked, scared that Misty was freaking out with Angie trapped in her clutches. "You need to calm down."

"I will not calm down!" Misty screamed. "All of a sudden, he changes and notices girls? Why! Why…" she paused, while Angie noticed a tear run down Misty's cheek. "Why'd he have to pick now to grow up and mature…?" she trailed off; her sensitive side temporarily grasping control of her personality.

"Misty?" Angie asked, still somewhat scared of her latest outburst. "Do you hate me or something? Because I don't know what I did, but whatever it is, I'm sorry," she apologized.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" she yelled again. "I've waited five years for him to mature, but when he does, you're all over him?" Misty was furious; all her time spent waiting for Ash had all been for naught.

"Look Misty," Angie said sternly. "Now that I know you like Ash isn't going to change anything, I like him and he likes me back, so stop getting between us and just let it go." With that said, Angie quickly stood up and left the room; oblivious to the tears that were threatening her eyes.

Misty reached out for her shoulder, but pulled back before she made contact. "She's right…" she mumbled to herself. "But that was five whole years of my life! If I knew this was going to happen, I would've gone out with Georgio…" she sighed; collapsing onto Angie's bed in a heap. "I hate this!" she shouted into the pillow before bursting into tears.

* * *

Angie ran into the living room and sat on the couch, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. Ash was caught off-guard by her sudden re-appearance and remained still for a minute before suddenly rushing to her side.

"Why are you crying? What's wrong?" Ash asked; still oblivious to the previous tension between Angie and Misty.

"A-Ash…" she paused; if there was any time to pull information from him, it would be now. "H-How d-do you f-feel about M-M-Misty?"

"Misty?" Ash repeated, his mind trying to figure out why she would ask him about her. "She's a great friend and she's always been behind me…even if she doesn't show it and hits me…"

Angie couldn't help but giggle; like always, Ash had completely missed her point. "I mean…like the w-way we feel w-with each other…do you feel l-like that with her?" She mentally slapped herself; despite probably getting her point across, it was a very poor choice of words.

Ash's eyes widened; was Angie asking him if he had a crush on Misty? He quickly shook his head, almost dizzying himself. "As good as a friend she is, I couldn't like somebody that constantly hits me on the head with a mallet…I'm surprised I haven't had more than four concussions," he explained with a sheepish giggle.

Relief flooded Angie's body, her heart slowed to her regular beat, her muscles relaxing into an almost limp state, and her mind eased up. Tears continued to flood down her cheeks, but the nature of the tears had changed from one of sorrow to one of joy. As if by reflex, she flung her arms around Ash and buried her face into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for doubting you, I should've known you wouldn't just drop me!" she yelled, albeit a bit muffled in Ash's clothing. Ash declined to comment, mainly because he didn't know what to say, so he just sat there holding Angie until she spoke up again.

"A-Ash? I'm not sure if I want to go through Kanto…I mean, what if we run into Misty again?" Angie asked shyly.

"Well," Ash started; his opportunity to tell Angie about Johto had just presented itself to him. "We could always go through Johto…" he paused; why didn't Angie want to see Misty? "But why don't you want to see Misty again, she is my friend after all."

Angie just sat there, her lips refusing to budge until she properly worded her sentence mentally. "We just don't get along…plus she likes you." She covered her mouth with her hands; that last part was not supposed to come out.

Ash jumped back in a state of disarray, his mind trying to come to terms with the information Angie presented him with. "M-Misty l-likes me?" Ash froze for another minute; unsure of what to say. "I'm g-guessing I-I'm not s-supposed to kn-know that, am I?" He watched as Angie shook her head, confirming his guess. After taking a couple more moments to process this information, he spoke up, "Well, I guess what I don't know won't hurt us."

Angie turned her head towards Ash and stared in wonder. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…as far as I'm concerned, there's just you and me. And yeah, we can travel Johto instead of Kanto…that was actually kinda my plan all along," he explained sheepishly.

"Awww," Angie said, wrapping her arms around Ash and squeezing him. "You know you're pretty slow sometimes, but when you figure it all out, you can be pretty sweet." Angie pulled back and laughed at the look on Ash's face; confused, embarrassed and a little bit flattered. "Wait a minute," Angie released Ash from her grip and stared at him questioningly. "When exactly were you gonna tell me that you wanted us to travel Johto? When we were stuck in the middle of Vidirian Forest?"

Ash burst into laughter at Angie's mispronunciation. "It's Vir-id-ian," he explained slowly, much to Angie's annoyance. "I don't really know…I guess it just sorta slipped my mind…" He scratched the back of his neck as he spoke; an angry Angie may not be as fierce as an angry Misty, but she was something to fear nonetheless.

"Doesn't everything?" Angie joked, earning a glare from Ash. "So what is Johto like? What kind of pokémon are there? And why did you want us to go there instead?"

"Great, I feel like I'm being interrogated…" he thought with a sigh before beginning to answer all of Angie's questions.

* * *

Angie yawned and re-adjusted herself; a glance towards the clock told her it was '10:58'. She gently placed her hand on top of her egg and stroked it, as she'd been doing for the last 46 minutes.

"I wonder what pokémon you'll turn out to be," she whispered softly for the umpteenth time.

Her eyes wandered around the room; occasionally locking onto a family heirloom or a large piece of furniture. The small crack between the bottom of the door and the hardwood was completely dark; a sign that both Misty and Delia had already headed off to bed.

Angie grabbed her egg and gently placed in its case at the side of the bed, being extra careful not to drop it. Her father had told her many times that pokémon sometimes remember things that happen around them while they're still inside their eggs, almost as if they had eyes already. If there was one thing Angie really wanted to avoid, it was a natural distrust from her own pokémon.

Turning off the lamp on the bedside table, she stretched her arms and collapsed into her pillow, the softness almost comparable to an Altaria's wing. As she felt herself falling asleep, the ceiling above her started to creak.

"Ugh…" Angie groaned; her ear trying to pinpoint the location of the creaking. The creaking kept an almost rhythmic timing and made its way in one direction; Angie guessed someone was just walking to the bathroom and relaxed in her bed.

Suddenly, those steps seemed to take a turn towards what Angie believed to be the stairs. One by one, the sound creaked along the stairs until it reached the ground with a firm thud. After a couple of seconds, light flashed through the crevice between Angie's door and the floor, easily finding its way into Angie's eyes.

"Maybe it's Ash…" Angie thought happily. "We haven't gotten that much time together…oh! And I still don't know what we are yet…" Angie sat up, now eagerly waiting for the door to open to reveal Ash.

The doorknob turned and slowly the door began to open. When she got a good view of the person in the doorway, Angie's face turned from one of happiness to one of disappointment

"What do you want?" she sneered, diving back into her sea of blankets.

Misty didn't respond immediately, instead flicking the light on so she could see better. Taking a seat on Angie's bed, making sure not to sit on her legs, Misty finally answered, "I just wanted to apologize."

Angie shuffled around with her blanket until she could see Misty through a small opening. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I was a jealous jerk," Misty answered bluntly, much to Angie's surprise. "I guess I always had the feeling you two had something special from right when you walked through that door, but I just didn't want to admit it…so I figured that if I spent more time with him, you'd sorta become irrelevant…but it didn't turn out that way…" Misty sighed while Angie pulled herself out from underneath her blankets.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Angie asked curiously.

"Of course I'm serious!" Misty snapped before releasing another sigh. "Sorry, I'm just still trying to come to terms with it all…I mean…it's been five years…it's tough to let something like that go…"

"I'm sorry too…" Angie admitted, enveloping Misty in a friendly hug. "And to think we could've avoided all this by not immediately hating each other."

"Yeah…" Misty chuckled. "So I'm sorry, sorry for trying to come between you guys, sorry for acting like a jerk…but don't permanently take away one of my-no, my closest friend."

"What do you mean?" a confused Angie asked.

"I mean…when I see the two of you again, don't completely block me from spending time with him, he's still my best friend, promise?"

"Depends," Angie scratched her head through her hair. "You're not gonna try to get between us again, are you?"

"Nope…" Misty sighed again. "I kinda realized that even if I did break you two up, it'd eventually hang over my head…like why I apologized right now, I felt really guilty. I've just gotta find someone else who will be able to keep up with me."

"You said it," Angie agreed. "And I promise…from what I've heard, you're a really important friend for Ash, and I couldn't keep the two of you apart even if I tried…not that I'm going to!" Angie rushed, trying to avoid the sight of Misty's intense glare.

"Thanks…" Misty stood up and walked towards the door. "Good night…and Angie?" Misty paused, waiting until she had Angie's attention. "The next time you two battle, you've gotta win, got it?" Angie gave an affirmative and determined nod before Misty turned the light off and closed the door.

Angie relaxed back into her bed and rolled around until she felt comfortable. "That…was unexpected…" she told herself before slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Angie dear, can you please wake my little Ashy?" Delia asked, busy finishing her well-cooked breakfast.

"Sure thing, Mrs. K," Angie agreed before eagerly running up the stairs towards Ash's room.

"I gotta say Misty, I always expected you to be the one to break through my Ashy's dense skull," Delia admitted, placing another plate of food onto the table.

"So you noticed too?" Misty joked, earning a small chuckle from Delia.

"I am his mother after all," she reminded Misty. "It's not like he would never talk about you; in fact, he always would, but it was always in an older sister kind of way-"

"I'm not that much older than him!" Misty interrupted, before sheepishly scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, go on."

"That was it…you going to be okay?" she asked wholeheartedly; it wasn't hard to figure out that Misty wasn't acting completely like herself yesterday.

"Maybe…" Misty sighed. "I guess it's just going to take a while…what do you think about her?" Misty asked a little too quickly.

"Honestly? I think they're like two peas in a pod," Delia admitted; taking her seat in her chair for breakfast.

"Ash!" Angie's voice echoed throughout the house. "Breakfast time!"

"Ahh!" Ash yelled in response.

**'THUD!'**

"I see what you mean," Misty said between fits of giggles. She wasn't completely happy with giving up her long-time crush, but as long as Ash was happy, she'd try to be. Eager to clear her dry throat, she took a sip of her water.

"You know you're his motivation, right?"

"What?" Misty choked, spitting out water until she could fully breathe again; she did not see that one coming.

"I asked if you knew you were his motivation," Delia repeated.

"PIKACHU! USE THUNDERBOLT TO WAKE HIM BACK UP!" Angie's voice rang out around the house. Delia and Misty couldn't help but giggle at Angie's plea.

"Pii-KaChu!" Pikachu cried, unleashing a powerful Thunderbolt on his unconscious trainer.

"Am I really his motivation? He did say he was doing so much better without me…" Misty sighed; when Misty had her mind made up, good or bad, it was hard to change it.

"Dear, you know Ash is just as stubborn as you are." Misty opened her mouth to deny, but realized she'd be lying if she did. "I haven't heard him admit it directly, but I sometimes catch him saying something along the lines of 'I'd like to see Misty criticize me now'. It sounds to me like he's trying to become better by chasing your expectations."

"Alright Mom, what's for breakfast? Ooo, food! Alright everyone, let's dig in." Ash rushed, bolting down the stairs before taking his seat and immediately starting to chow down.

"Geez, you could wait for us," Angie moaned, making her way down the stairs slowly with Pikachu perched on her shoulder; waking Ash up after he knocked himself out by tripping over his own Pikachu takes a lot out of someone.

Delia and Angie followed Ash into eating the delicious meal placed in front of them, but Misty was a little distracted from earlier, barely touching her food.

"Look at him, sure he's almost choking on all that food, but he's a great trainer…but I'll never admit it." Misty gave Ash a warm, sly smile at the thought. "Is he really getting better because he wants to be better than me? I guess that's all I could really ask for-"

"Misty?" Ash asked, interrupting himself from his constant gorging; Misty hoped he was doing so because she seemed distracted. "You gonna finish that?" He pointed to her food; so much for that logic.

"Yeah, I'm not letting you eat everything like always," she yelled, grabbing her fork so she could dig in.

"I don't always eat everything!" Ash defended, much to Misty's amusement.

"Of course you don't, everything else just ends up on your shirt." She pointed to Ash's shirt, covered in various pieces of food; even Angie and Delia couldn't help but giggle softly.

"Uh…well…it's not like I'm entering a beauty pageant or anything!" he quipped, stuffing his mouth full in the process.

"Not with your kind of beauty," Misty said matter-of-factly, enjoying every minute of the back-and-forth she was currently engaged in. "Let's face it, you'd finish second to a-"

**'SPLAT!'**

Ash smiled while Misty just stared in shock; not often had Ash thrown food at her before, but now he had just tossed his pieces of banana right into her hair.

"Looks like I'm not the only one finishing second to a Grimer."

That was the last straw; she reached onto her plate and tossed her own banana slices towards Ash, splattering all over his shirt.

"O-ho-ho-ho…this…means…war," Ash declared, grabbing a handful of grapes and preparing to throw them at Misty.

"Bring it, Mr. Not Pokémon Master," Misty retaliated, reaching over the table to grab anything she could get her hands on.

Angie silently watched as the once-verbal argument escalated into an all-out food fight, yet after last night, she didn't worry about it at all, instead grabbing her grapes and unleashing them in a fury towards the two of them.

Delia attempted to halt the fight but only found herself hit with multiple banana slices and grapes. Frustrated, she left the room to go find the still-sleeping Pikachu, hoping a Thunderbolt could break up the fight.

* * *

"Only one day and you're already setting off on another journey…one day I hope you'll come back for at least a week…" Delia sighed. It was time for another one of those all-too-familiar goodbyes between her and Ash.

"Are you always gonna get so teary-eyed whenever I leave?" Ash asked impatiently. "It's only for three months this time; every other trip lasted like a year, right?"

"And don't worry," Angie added. "I'll do my best to keep him out of trouble…but it sure won't be easy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know what that's supposed to mean," Angie yelled, pushing her face into Ash's. Ash pushed his face forward in response, leaving only a couple of centimetres separating the two of them. Angie's face heated up; she didn't expect this, but she probably should have.

She remained completely motionless, her emotions conflicting inside of her. Part of her wanted to just close the gap between them and to give him her first kiss…but she felt like she'd embarrass herself by doing it wrong…especially with Misty, Delia and Professor Oak right beside her. The other part of her was just too distracted by the thought of finally going on her journey with Ash to worry about what was going on. Slowly, she backed away, the latter part of her grasping firm control of her emotions.

"Try not to almost get killed again!" Misty yelled out, breaking the remaining seriousness portrayed in Ash's face.

"What!" Delia screamed out. "Ash Ketchum, just how many times have I told you not to get yourself almost killed?"

"Mom!" Ash whined, but to no avail; Misty and Angie couldn't help but laugh.

"No Ash, I'm not going to let you get hurt and make your girlfriend worry!" Mom explained.

Angie blushed heavily and averted her gaze to the fields surrounding her. Misty managed to avoid clenching her fist this time, subconsciously accepting Angie and Ash as a couple.

"Alright…"Ash mumbled, his head hanging to hide the deepened blush on his face. "It's was great to see you again Mom…even if you did embarrass me." He gave his mother a nice-warm hug.

"It just naturally happens sweetie, just remember to change your underwear every day," she reminded him with a little motherly giggle.

"MOM!" he screamed.

"So how's it feel to be going on your own journey," Misty asked, cutting through the awkward tension like a Psycho Cut through a tree trunk.

"I'm really excited; I bet there's still a whole lot of pokémon I haven't even seen before…even though I've worked at a daycare since I learned how to walk," Angie laughed, distracting Ash from his embarrassing conversation with his mother.

"I thought they didn't get along," Ash wondered to himself. Even Pikachu was confused by Angie and Misty's friendship after learning about Angie's supposed dislike of Misty after breakfast from Ash.

"Since you're going on your own journey, I believe this is for you," Professor Oak interjected, handing a green pokédex to Angie.

"Really?" Angie yelled. "You're really giving me a pokédex?" She stared at the new object in her hands and grabbed it tightly with her right hand. "Yeah, I've got…a pokédex!" she shouted, posing in the same manner Ash typically would.

"That's…scary," Misty thought to herself, alluding to Angie's striking resemblance to Ash's posing.

"Well, I see a tremendous amount of potential in you, and you obviously care a lot about pokémon; how could I not give you a pokédex?" Professor Oak explained, confident in his decision.

"Professor, why didn't you say the same thing to me when I started my journey?" Ash intervened.

"It's not the thing you say when a trainer runs into your lab half an hour late demanding a pokémon while still in his pyjamas," Professor Oak explained again, receiving a sheepish chuckle in return.

"Shouldn't you two be heading out soon, doesn't the boat leave soon?" Delia reminded her oft-forgetful son. Plenty of times had Ash missed play dates as a kid by simply forgetting.

"It does, but we're walking. That way Angie and I can meet some more pokémon and hopefully run into a couple of tough trainers," Ash spoke up, wrapping his left arm around Angie's waist while scratching behind Pikachu's ear with his right hand. Angie's cheeks reddened, but she chose to rest her head on Ash's shoulder and close her eyes to temporarily avoid any looks from Delia or Misty.

"Goodbye Ash," Misty stepped forward. "Come back soon…and when you do, I challenge you to a battle."

"Okay," Ash said nervously. He was afraid that if he rushed into her invitation, Angie might get upset, which was why he was surprised to hear her whisper into his ear.

"What is she? Your grandma? Hug her goodbye already," Angie's voice resonated in his head. Thinking he might be insane, he turned to see Angie's smile, with her eyes trying to direct him to Misty.

Shrugging, he removed his arm from around Angie and hugged Misty. "You know I'm going to beat you then, right?" he whispered in a brash, arrogant tone.

"Keep dreaming," Misty whispered with a smile, enjoying the embrace while it lasted.

"Bye you guys!" Ash spoke up, taking Angie's left hand with his right while the two of them waved.

"Bye!"

"Take care!"

"We will!"

"Don't forget to change your underwear!"

"MOM!"

"Race you to the tree!"

"You're on!"

And with that, the two kids turned towards the first tree in view and ran, progressively becoming smaller and smaller.

"Seems you're okay with everything now, aren't you?" Delia spoke up, distracting everyone from the finale of the not-so-tearful goodbye.

"Yeah, I guess I always had my own place in his heart…just wasn't what I thought it'd be," Misty replied sadly. She shook her head and confidently walked towards the house.

"And that's good enough for me."

* * *

"I DEFINITELY BEAT YOU!" Angie shouted; her breath almost completely undisturbed from her recent exercise. She didn't have to run very hard; Ash got a cramp halfway through and just walked quickly for the rest of it.

"NUH-UH!" Ash shouted, though his words were mixed with several gasps for air. His pride and stubbornness refused to give up the race…even though he was beaten by almost a minute.

"Pika-pikachu," said Pikachu, pointing towards Angie. Angie immediately celebrated by raising her hand in victory.

"You're supposed to be on my side," Ash whined, but Pikachu just shook his head and ran up Angie's body to her shoulder before poking her cheek.

"Pi-pika!" Pikachu spoke out, officially giving Angie her own Pika-name.

Ash sighed, rolling his eyes as he looked upon the path in front of him. Something looked very familiar about this area of the woods, but he didn't think much of it.

"So it didn't look like you hated Misty so much," Ash pointed out, remembering her previous order to hug Misty.

"Nope!" Angie squeaked, hoping to remain as vague as possible while also eliciting any curiosity from Ash.

"So everything's suddenly fine between you two?" Ash asked again, still confused as ever.

"Yup!" Angie gave a second vague reply.

"How?" Ash stubbornly asked.

"Race you to that tree!" Angie yelled, running towards the tree. She had to admit that she really appreciated those impromptu lessons from Misty on how to mess with Ash.

* * *

**So it's late...and it may not be very good...so sorry. But next comes a couple chapters I've been looking forward to. And also the hatching of Angie's egg. :D Angie's got a pokédex! Misty's alright with the happy couple and Ash is confused...like always.**

**If you want to, guess. Who is the character who will show up next chapter?**

**Sorry if the next chapter is late too, it's been a tough year so far.**


	12. The Egg! The Tower!

**Took less time! :D But I have been distracted by Pokémon Black...so sorry for my neglection...**

**I completely owe this chapter to Meta-Akira...She's a lifesaver. Taught me how to finally upload this.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon...yadda yadda yadda.**

* * *

"I know I've been here before!" Ash pointed out, his eyes carefully observing the scenery around him; the tree's leaves a lush green, filtering the light into small patterns on the main path that danced as a soft breeze blew.

"You just got us lost again…we probably just went in a circle…" Angie sighed followed by a sigh from Shinx. "It's just like that time in the forest when you ran away from a little Misdreavus," Angie laughed, snatching Pikachu from Ash's shoulder. "C'mon Pikachu, how about you travel with someone who can find the next pokémon center?"

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu agreed, claiming a spot on top of Angie's head.

"If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't be together here right now," Ash reminded her. Angie stopped and stared at Ash, confused.

"What do you mean by that? I mean, I know that's when I started falling in-" she froze; that was too close for comfort. "I know that's when I started to crush on you, but what does that have to do about you coming back for me?"

Ash took a deep breath and pulled Angie closer to him. They were close…close enough that Ash could feel Angie's breath tickle his neck. She blushed considerably; her nose almost brushing against Ash's. The adrenaline coursed through her veins; her heart beating at a pace previously unknown to her.

"Angie…" Ash whispered softly; the sound of her name whispered through his voice sent shivers down her spine.

"What is it Ash?" Angie whispered in response.

Ash leaned in closer, leaving the shortest of distances separating his lips from her ear. "Your egg is glowing," he whispered softly.

Angie opened her mouth to reply…but found herself flabbergasted; she expected to get a kiss on the cheek out of all that…but instead she got nothing…until she remembered Ash's words and immediately glanced at her egg. To her surprise, Ash wasn't wrong; the egg was glowing in a rhythmic pattern.

Quickly, yet reluctantly, she separated from Ash and sat down in the middle of the dirt path. She pulled the egg out from the egg case and gently placed it on the ground. Shinx, Pikachu and Ash also crowded around the egg, waiting to see what pokémon it would hatch into.

Only a few more minutes passed before the pink and green egg encased itself in a steady, faint white glow.

"It's really hatching!" Angie squealed uncharacteristically, accidentally piercing Ash's eardrums.

"Ugh…I didn't know you could squeal so loudly," Ash complained, fiddling with his ear in an attempt to regain his temporarily lost hearing.

Suddenly, the egg glow brightened before slowly reverting from the familiar egg shape it had carried for a long time into a larger round shape with two large triangular shapes that Angie could only assume would end up as ears. Two diagonally shaped leaves seemed to sprout from the tip of the new pokémon. The glow disintegrated, leaving Angie's pokémon completely visible to all the eyes on it.

"Hoppip-Hop!" the pokémon chimed, happy to have finally hatched.

"Oh, wow! It's a Hoppip," Angie happily screamed, reaching into Ash's pocket to pull out his pokédex.

_"Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokémon. To keep from being blown away by the wind, they gather in clusters. However, they do enjoy gentle breezes,"_ the pokédex informed Angie. Ash started celebrating with Angie with a deep blush on his face.

"Hi Hoppip, I'm your trainer, Angie," Angie introduced herself to her new pokémon. Hoppip recoiled slightly in fear from Angie, but that was to be expected from a newborn. "Hoppip, that's another trainer named Ash. And that's Shinx over there," Angie exclaimed, pointing towards Shinx. "And that's-" Angie paused as she watched Hoppip almost immediately float over towards Pikachu before wrapping its leaves around him to give him a hug.

"Why's Hoppip so relaxed around Pikachu?" Ash asked, receiving a shoulder shrug from Angie in response.

_"Sometimes, a pokémon will feel an attachment to pokémon of the same species as their parents,"_ the pokédex explained.

"You do have your own pokédex," Ash reminded Angie, snatching his pokédex from Angie's clutches.

"So does that mean a Pikachu is Hoppip's father?" Angie questioned, completely ignoring Ash's comment.

"Guess so," Ash responded. "Well, aren't you going to catch it?" Ash couldn't help but laugh at Pikachu, who was now failing to get Hoppip off of him.

"Wait! I still have to catch him? Even after raising him in an egg?" Angie whined.

"Of course, why do you think they put poké balls on the top of egg cases?" Ash pointed out, grabbing the egg case to reveal the poké ball on top.

"I thought it was just a bonus…" Angie sighed, enlarging the poké ball and grabbing it confidently. "Here goes…Go Poké Ball!" she yelled, tossing the poké ball towards Hoppip.

"Hop-Hoppip!" Hoppip squealed, hiding behind Pikachu to prevent himself from being captured.

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned as a pokémon normally would when hit on the head with a poké ball.

"Sorry, Pikachu…" Angie sighed; catching Hoppip was proving not to be so easy. "Why doesn't it want to be captured?"

"Not all pokémon like to be captured," Ash explained, gesturing to his Pikachu for proof. "Sometimes, you gotta earn their trust."

"Well, how could I do that, Mr. Pokémon Trainer?" Angie replied sarcastically. Part of Angie felt like she was being a little harsh with Ash, but he had put up with it from Misty for a few years, so he had to be used to it by now.

Almost on cue, a familiar balloon appeared above the group. However, this time it seemed there was a giant vacuum attached to the bottom of it.

"Prepare for trouble," Jessie began.

"Make it double," James continued.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth chimed in, completing the motto.

"Isn't that motto really...REALLY old?" Ash asked, confused as to what happened to their newer mottos.

"We're feeling nostalgic," James explained.

"So sue us," Jessie threatened, being the more serious of the two. "Start the vacuum," Jessie ordered.

"Startin' da vacuum," Meowth complied, pressing one of the three buttons in front of him.

A high-powered torrent of air shot from the vacuum, pushing away everything near them. Hoppip, being the Cottonweed Pokémon, instantaneous flew away, driven by the powerful gust of air.

"Hoppip! No!" she yelled; her hands failing to grab onto it in time. "Hoppip!" she shouted out, her eyes beginning to water. "That's it, Team Rocket, you're mine!" she resolved, standing behind her Shinx to ensure it wouldn't blow away either.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the vacuum was supposed to capture the pokémon, not send them hurtling towards...that very familiar tower in the distance," James wondered, making sure to stay between Jessie and Meowth.

"Tower…" The word bounced around in Ash's mind; something about it seemed so familiar, especially in this area of the woods…but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I thought cats were supposed to be wise!" Jessie screamed ferociously.

"Relax, I just hit da wrong button…here we go," Meowth replied coolly, hitting another button in the process.

Almost instantaneously, the gust of wind switched directions, now pulling each person and pokémon towards the balloon instead of away from it.

"Just a few more seconds and your twerpish pokémon will be ours for the keeping," Jessie laughed.

"That's what you think," Angie shouted. "Shinx, use Spark and fly into the vacuum," Angie ordered, pointing her finger for emphasis.

"Shinx!" Shinx complied, surrounding itself in blue electricity before charging towards the vacuum. After a couple steps, the wind carried it, launching it straight into the vacuum. The machine started to spark and smoke before suddenly exploding, launching three unlucky Team Rocket members towards the sky.

"Geez, some twerp's really got a temper," James whined.

"I'll show her for blasting us off again!" Jessie shouted.

"Yeah, yeah…" Meowth sighed; another not-so-friendly landing was only a few seconds away.

"We're blasting off again…" they shouted until they were out of earshot.

"Great job Shinx," Angie cheered, catching her pokémon as it fell from the wreckage that was once Team Rocket's famous Meowth balloon. "You were amazing Shinx…now we just have to find Hoppip…" Angie's eyes began to water and her smile faded into a frown; her knees buckling as she collapsed to the ground.

"We'll find Hoppip, don't worry about it," Ash reassured Angie while pulling her up with his hand. "Now let's go," he started to lead Angie in a certain direction before he felt some resistance.

"It's that way," Angie laughed, mixing itself with one of her quiet sobs. Using Ash's grip on his wrist against him, she pulled him in the other direction.

"No, it's this way!" Ash insisted, leading Angie in the other direction.

"You're so wrong, it's definitely this way," Angie loudly insisted, pulling them back in her direction.

"Yeah, says who?" Ash took a step towards Angie, only increasing the intensity between the two. Angie almost pecked him right on the lips when she took a step forward in response, but she remembered there was something a little more important to do right now.

"Just follow me," Angie effectively ended the argument by pulling him in her direction without giving him a say in the matter.

"But Hoppip's over there!" Ash brought up, but to no avail; Angie refused to give in and continued dragging Ash to where she was positive Hoppip was.

* * *

"Hoppip?" Hoppip asked, confused as how her new friends had now suddenly vanished…she was all alone…

"Sss-Arbok!" a nearby figure hissed from its hiding spot, a bush. Now Hoppip wished she was truly alone…

"HOPPIP! HOP-PIP-HOP!" Hoppip screamed, praying for someone to hear her plea. There were several pokémon that you wouldn't want to trapped alone against, especially as a newborn…Arbok was one of those pokémon.

"Arrr-Bok!" Arbok slithered out of its hiding spot, almost eager to teach Hoppip a lesson about invading someone's property.

"HOP!" Hoppip jumped up, using the mild air currents to maintain a floating position; if Arbok wanted a fight, it was going to get one.

Arbok rushed to bury itself under the ground, trying to gain a position advantage of its own.

Hoppip floated from tree to tree, looking for any sign of Arbok. Her eyes constantly shifting from boulder to boulder to even the ground right underneath her, however there remained no trace of the threatening Arbok. Believing Arbok to have given up because of its inability to fly, Hoppip settled itself down in another bush, hoping to take a little nap before doing anything else.

"Arbok!" Arbok shouted, bursting out of the ground right in front of Hoppip, scaring the small Cottonweed Pokémon.

"HOP-HOP!" Hoppip squealed, too frightened to make any sort of attempt to run away.

Arbok hissed as it drew close to Hoppip, as if to torture her for a few more seconds. Slowly coiling its tail around Hoppip to constrict her, Arbok's fangs began to glow a light purple and it leaned right into her face.

"Don't even think about biting into my Hoppip!" Angie screamed, charging through the trees to the newly hatched Hoppip. "Shinx, use Crunch on Arbok's tail," Angie ordered out of pure rage before coming to her senses. "Oh, and make sure not to hit Hoppip!"

"Shinx!" Shinx obeyed, charging towards Arbok before sinking his relatively small fangs deep into Arbok's tail.

"ARRR!" Arbok screeched, releasing Hoppip as he uncoiled his tail so it could attempt to shake Shinx off.

"Alright Shinx, now let go and use Spark," Angie commanded, pointing towards Arbok for emphasis. Hoppip could only look on as Shinx coated itself in blue electricity before charging directly into the chest of Arbok. Hoppip was stunned; all of a sudden, the trainer and Shinx she was so afraid of earlier were now defending her from being attacked by that Arbok…but why?

"Arr…" Arbok mumbled as it slithered away, shame evident in its tone.

"Yeah Shinx, we beat 'em!" Angie cheered, picking her Shinx up in a hug as she did so. Shinx cried out its name in their euphoria.

"Wh-what…ha…happened?" Ash wondered aloud and out of breath, finally catching up to Angie.

"We saved Hoppip from a bad Arbok and then you showed up late as usual," Angie explained, using her tone to make it sound as condescending as possible.

Pikachu instantly hopped off of Ash's head, which he was seated on so he could act as a lookout, and walked up to Hoppip who hugged him just as she did earlier.

"Well, excuse me for mistaking a bush for a Hoppip…but it did have a Ledyba in it!"

"So…I was right," Angie concluded, walking over towards the still-trembling Hoppip in Pikachu's arms. "Hey Hoppip, you're okay; no more Arbok will be bothering you."

"Yeah, says who?" Ash argued, mostly just for the sake of argument.

"Says me, now will you help me calm down Hoppip?" Angie insisted, picking up Hoppip and scooping her into her arms. Unlike before, Hoppip felt a sense of gratitude towards Angie and didn't shy away from her.

"Of course," Ash gave in, ripping an Oran Berry from a nearby bush before handing it to Hoppip. "Eat this, and you'll feel much better." Ash placed the berry in front of Angie, who gently lowered Hoppip so she could eat the berry.

"Cha~!" Pikachu chimed, enjoying the adorable sight in front of him. Hoppip slowly finished the berry and when she did, she floated up to Angie, wrapping the leaf-like limbs that sprout from her head around Angie.

"Hoppip-Hop!" Hoppip squeaked, happy to have made such good friends. Almost as if she was too eager to wait, one of her leaves reached into Angie's pocket and activated the poké ball, converting the pokémon into red energy and trapping it inside. The ball shook once…twice…thrice…

**'CLICK!'**

"Awesome, so Hoppip's officially mine!" Angie cheered. "With you on my side, I'll go through the entire region with ease!" Angie declared assertively, proudly posing with Hoppip's poké ball.

"You'll have to get through me first," Ash reminded her with a simple tap on the shoulder. Pikachu flexed its muscles and chanted his name confidently.

Angie opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it. That was it…she couldn't take it anymore. Belittling Ash just wasn't working for her; it may have been Misty's way of showing Ash, but Angie was regretting being so mean to Ash. He may have gotten used to it, but that didn't mean Angie had to abuse it as badly as she had been.

"Ash…you know I'm not really acting like it, but I still really like you…" Angie admitted, her sensitive side making one of those oh-so-rare appearances. "I guess I've just been acting harsher than usual because...well I took some impromptu lessons from Misty on how to bug and bicker with you…I guess I took them too far, eh?" Angie's cheeks were completely flushed by now, but Ash's eyes would never leave her line of vision. Ash was nervous and blushing as well; he wouldn't deny that Angie had been acting a little harsher than usual, but seeing Angie's sensitive side was always a nice little treat.

"Well…I…uh…well you should…just…be…uh…you," Ash stuttered, his nervousness interrupting him. "I mean, like, that's how we got here…right?"

Angie smiled; something about Ash's stuttering logic made her heart flutter…until she remembered something from earlier. "Yeah…so Ash, you were about to tell me about your feelings when I was getting sucked into the spirit world," Angie reminded him slyly.

Ash looked down out of extreme embarrassment…before casting his gaze into the sky, his eyes catching a little something in the distance. "Wait…is that…? But it couldn't be…? Of course! I knew I'd been here before! Angie, look!"

"You're going to tell me sooner or later…" Angie mumbled, her head turning to where Ash was pointing. Off in the distance, Angie could see a mighty tower, which looked like it was entirely made of glass. "Wh-What is that?" Angie asked, slightly in awe over the magnificent figure.

Ash flashed a bright smile and lowered his arm, while Pikachu climbed his way to Ash's shoulder and released a happy "Chaaa~!"

"It's the Battle Tower…"

* * *

**Sorry, short chapter, just really set-up for the next couple...which may take a while (School+Pokemon Black).**

**From the last line, it's evident what the next multi-chapter arc is going to be...and it will be followed with the beginning of the actual journey. So Hoppip's a youngling and moves will be revealed in due time. I do love a little bit of conflict.**

**As for the character who will show up this chapter, I realized last minute that I would save it for next chapter, so the answer can be either Hoppip, Meowth, James or Jessie.**


	13. Anabel, Salon Maiden in Distress!

**My creative side is dead...I'll admit it. I've lost some of the motivation for writing...especially with life becoming more complicated.  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon.**

* * *

"What's the Battle Tower?" Angie asked, curious about the colossal tower in the middle of the forest.

"It's part of the Battle Frontier," Ash answered, leaving Angie just as confused as she was before.

"Okay…so what's the Battle Frontier?" asked Angie, her eyes widening at the increasing height of the tower as she neared it.

"It's this thing where people battle these tough trainers called Frontier Brains. Only certain trainers get invited, and if you beat a Frontier Brain, you get a symbol."

"What do the symbols do?"

"Well, if you get all of them, like I did, then you can become a Frontier Brain yourself." Ash's mind traveled back to the time he won that final symbol against Brandon; the Brave Symbol. It was a tough choice to turn down such a prestigious position, but he wasn't done travelling yet…not by a long shot.

"Wait, so why'd you turn it down? Couldn't you be a respected Frontier Brain instead of some wandering trainer?" Angie joked, inducing a glare from Ash.

"If I turned it down, I'd never have met you."

"…Touché…" Angie sighed; he had her beat there. "So you beat the person who runs this whole place…on your fifth try, right?"

"Second, actually!" Ash shouted, trying to maintain his pride. "It was tough though, Anabel's got this thing where she can speak to her pokémon without saying anything."

"Great…another girl…" Angie thought; hopefully she wouldn't be intrusive or anything. "What do you mean?" she spoke up. If there was anything Ash could improve on, it was his ability to make his words make sense.

"I mean, she can talk to her pokémon with her mind. It's pretty cool too; it's hard to beat somebody when you can't hear them giving commands."

"I could probably beat her with my eyes closed," Angie shrugged cockily.

"As if, she'd flatten you," Ash laughed, extremely irritating Angie.

"Yeah, says who?" Angie retorted with a familiar line.

"Yeah! Says me!"

Ash's face turned into a large grin as he glanced briefly at the tree that he learned first-hand contained several Beedrill. "I could just…nah…" he sighed. "I've always got to be the good guy…"

Eventually they managed to get to the base of the tower; it looked even more imposing than it was several minutes ago, but that thought hadn't even crossed Angie's mind. The only thing on her mind was that she needed to heal her precious Shinx and spend some time with her little Hoppip...and meeting this Anabel person.

Suddenly, the doors slid open and a man stepped out, recognizing Ash almost instantaneously. "Ash, what a surprise."

"Um…no offence, but it's been a while. What's your name again?" Ash said, embarrassed that he had to ask.

"None taken, we have a file on you so I don't really get a chance to forget your name. Anyways, I'm Maron, and this is…" he started, before gesturing to Angie.

"Angie," Angie finished for him. "I just became a trainer, and Ash is showing me the all-too-easy ropes."

"She says she can beat Anabel with her eyes closed," Ash laughed, inducing Maron into a laugh of his own along with Pikachu.

"Not funny!" she shouted. "I could win, I thought you believed in me," she pouted in an attempt to get him back on her side.

"Sorry, but if I had to pick between you and Anabel, I'd pick her." Ash stated boldly. Pikachu face-palmed at his statement and Angie froze. That sentence either didn't come out right, or she definitely had to try and beat Anabel.

"We could settle this with a battle," Maron suggested, snapping Ash and Angie out of their squabble.

"You mean I'd get to battle her? Awesome, get her out here, I want to battle!" Angie shouted.

"I think you should heal your pokémon first," Ash suggested. "How is Anabel anyways?" he asked out of nowhere. He would be lying if he said she wasn't one of his good friends; they had gotten to know each other so well over the two days he was here, but he hadn't the time to talk to her since before the Wallace Cup.

"Bored and obsessed," Maron replied, leaving Ash with a look of confusion and worry. "Follow me inside, I'll tell you more."

* * *

"Anabel's on her way and your pokémon are fully healed, here you go," Maron informed the couple with a bright smile on his face. Angie clipped her poké balls onto her belt while Ash got straight to the point.

"So what about Anabel?"

Maron sighed; this was going to be a long story…

"Well, Anabel's been training a lot for y-I mean, to get better, but the problem is she's gotten too strong and now every battle isn't exciting or thrilling; it's just boring for her now."

"That's not too bad-"

"It gets bad," Maron interrupted; Ash gulped at his words."With Brandon having left the Battle Frontier temporarily; Anabel's been given the responsibility of being the leader of the Frontier Brains. Because of that, she doesn't stop training; she thinks that if she stops training, the other Brains will get on her back because they'll think she's slacking off."

"At least she'll recover HP…" Angie sighed; her knowledge of pokémon forcing her into that joke.

"So she's been running herself ragged?" Ash guessed; surprising Angie. "I know some expressions, like…um…What doesn't chill you makes you warmer," he said, extremely proud of himself; Angie and Pikachu face-palmed at his example.

"It's 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger…'" Angie laughed at her "boyfriend", causing him to sulk.

"Whatever…"

"Anyways," Maron interrupted again. "The point is that now that you're here, I'd like to ask a favour from you Ash."

"Anything," Ash leapt out of his chair at the idea of helping Anabel, doing little to calm Angie's nerves.

"I was thinking that maybe you could spend some time with her tomorrow, get her to relax; I'll postpone any battles tomorrow. She needs your help Ash."

"Of course, but what would you have done if I wasn't here?" Ash asked, curious about how else Anabel could relax; maybe he could try some of his ideas as well.

"Honestly, I was about to call you and literally beg you to get over here…if I could find you, that is," Maron admitted.

"So much for any other ideas," Ash thought to himself. "But why me specifically?"

"Yeah, why him?" Angie whispered to herself, upset that Ash would have to spend all this time with this girl instead of her, especially right after the Misty fiasco.

"The last time you were here, there was hardly a moment she didn't smile; now the only time she comes close is when she smirks, and that only happens when she knocks out three straight pokémon. I just figured you'd be her best bet."

"Hmm…I wonder if I should surprise her…" Ash thought aloud, receiving a slap from an irritated Angie.

"You're already surprising her just by being here. You don't have to do anything special other than that," Angie practically growled, still fuming about how Ash was almost instantaneously set up on a date with Anabel.

"Whatever, you stay here and battle Anabel," he pointed to Angie before pointing at Maron. "And you send Anabel to the lake somehow; I'll take it from there," Ash finished, an idea already forming in his head.

"Don't get too crazy; she's pretty wound up," Maron warned, brushed aside with a simple wave of Ash's hand.

"Don't you worry about me, just try to stall as long as you can, okay Angie?"

Angie's face turned a deep shade of red and she immediately got into Ash's personal space, ready to give him an earful. "Are you saying I can't beat her? Because I almost beat you and you beat her, so it's like I've already pretty much won!"

"…sorry, I think you'll put up a great fight…even though you don't have enough pokémon to challenge," Ash suddenly remembered.

Angie sighed and scratched her chin and nearly jumped out of her seat when an idea hit her. "Lend me your Heracross, I can use it and then I'll have three…wait, how many do I need to have?"

"Official battles require both sides to have three pokémon present and in condition to battle," Maron stated as if he was reading the rule straight out of the book.

"Well, either way. I don't have Heracross with me…and you can't use Hoppip. Didn't she hatch a couple hours ago?" Ash pointed out, frustrating Angie even more.

"Who do you have on you?" Angie nosily asked.

"Pikachu, of course. And I think I have…yup, Sceptile and Torkoal too."

"Let me use Sceptile and Torkoal, I'll show her how tough I can be!" she declared.

"With my pokémon?" Ash sighed. "Fine, come on out, you two," he tossed the two poké balls out and released the pokémon. "You two, listen to Angie and be ready; this is going to be one tough battle, got it?"

"Tooo-rk!" Torkoal responded, blasting a powerful stream of smoke from the top of his back. Ash, Angie and Maron coughed on the smoke; stuck in a room with no open windows and doors.

"Scep-tile," Sceptile calmly agreed, Sceptile's ever-narrow gaze giving Ash confidence in him. Ash placed the two poké balls into Angie's palm and stood up.

"Alright, I'm off to the lake; Maron, you send her there after the battle," Ash spoke up, making his way to the door with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Understood," Maron replied.

"Bye Ash," Angie said softly, fighting the urge to give him a hug as to mentally prepare for the battle ahead. All of a sudden, a large crash startled the people and pokémon.

"Oh good, time for your battle, please step this way," Maron instructed.

* * *

"Maron, I'd appreciate it if you didn't leave all those empty poké balls in my office," a girl Angie guessed was Anabel warned Maron, who mouthed the word 'sorry' in response.

She was young, that was the first thing Angie noticed. She had vibrant lilac hair, an outfit consisting of a white blouse with yellow buttons outlined with thin yellow stripes and translucent, puffy lavender sleeves as well as deep lavender pants. Even Angie couldn't deny that she was pretty attractive.

"AGH! Why is she like my age? I thought she'd be like in her twenties!" Angie shouted mentally, her emotions a swirling tornado of frustration.

"Don't get mad at me just because I'm a respected Frontier Brain already at your age," Anabel suddenly quipped, as if she could see Angie's frustration inside of her…

"Oh yeah, I forgot she could do that," Angie sighed, her unease put aside temporarily as she got ready for the start of the battle.

"The Frontier Battle between Angie of Solaceon Town and Anabel, the Frontier Brain and Salon Maiden is about to begin. This will be a three-on-three battle and only the challenger is able to substitute her pokémon," Maron stated, initiating the battle.

"Go, my friend," said Anabel in an almost bored tone, tossing a poké ball onto the Battle Salon floor. Emerging from the poké ball was a Gallade, standing strong with a noticeably tall stature; Gallade were typically human-sized, about 5' 3", but Anabel's was much taller than Angie, at what she guessed was 7 feet tall. This is going to be tough.

"Now it's my turn; Go Sceptile!" Angie commanded; the pokémon materializing from the bright light of the poké ball.

"Do you honestly have all five of the other symbols or is this just a waste of my time…?" a bored Anabel asked.

"Uh, well I, uh…" Angie stalled; she hadn't realized she'd need an excuse just to battle her in the first place.

"Uh, Scott is using you to determine whether or not she's ready to challenge the Battle Frontier," Maron made up on-the-spot. Angie looked over to him and gave him a look as if to say 'I owe you big time'.

"Then give me everything you've got," Anabel encouraged while still maintaining her bored tone.

"Sceptile, hit him with a Quick Attack!" Angie shouted.

Sceptile charged towards Gallade, creating a white trail of energy behind him. The blades on Sceptile's arms sheared the air, filling the room with the howling screech of the wind.

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun. Jealousy, Angie and Anabel battle and what is Ash up to? We'll find out. Sorry about the long wait, I have no time for writing anymore. Job + Life + School + More Life.**

**BTW, if you have ever read my other chaptered story, I am posting a notice: It is on indefinite hiatus so I can focus on this one.**


	14. Anabel VS Angie!

**Back with the battle chapter; tried to explain how it all happened and how intense the battle was along with what each trainer was thinking.**

**This is the first all-out well described battle; and I think it turned out pretty well.**

* * *

"Gallade, use Shadow Sneak!" Anabel commanded her pokémon telepathically.

Gallade glowed black in colour before vanishing completely, leaving Sceptile without a visible target. Sceptile stopped and looked around in confusion; his eyes failing to lock on to the creepy shadow on the ground moving towards him. Suddenly, Gallade shot up out of the shadow and slashed at Sceptile, knocking him back a couple of feet.

"C'mon Sceptile, while he's close, use Leaf Storm!" Angie ordered, trying to take advantage of the situation.

The bulbs on Sceptile's back started glowing a light green and he immersed himself in a tornado of glowing leaves, before sending it towards Gallade at close-range. Gallade, with little time to react, tossed up its arms to try and defend itself against the attack. Leaves battered Gallade, the impact nearly sending Gallade flying, but he managed to hold his ground. Slowly, the attack died down and revealed a slightly-damaged Gallade along with a tired Sceptile.

"Gallade, how about a Rock Tomb?"

Gallade stomped on the ground, sending through it a small shockwave; all of a sudden, four large rocks shot up surrounding Sceptile, crushing him and sending shockwaves of pain through his body.

"TILE!" Sceptile roared, the excruciating pain from being trapped being too intense to hold out for much longer.

"Ummm, Sceptile! Get out of there with Leaf Blade!" Angie shouted, complete worry taking over.

"Scep-TILE!" Sceptile shouted, the blades on his arm glowing a strong green in colour as he slashed his way through the rocks, shattering them and leaving the floor coated with rubble.

"Now Gallade, use Psychic!"

Gallade's eyes flashed a bright blue and the rubble of the Rock Tomb became surrounded by a blue aura; the rubble started spinning into a vortex and formed a tornado of pebbles and pieces of rock. Gallade thrust its arm forward and the tornado seemed to respond, moving towards Sceptile while growing in intensity.

"Uh-oh…" Angie thought, the tornado instantly instilling fear in her. "This looks exactly like Sceptile's Leaf-"

"That's it!" Angie shouted. "Sceptile, use your Leaf Storm again!"

Sceptile responded affirmatively, the bulbs on his back beginning to glow that familiar bright green colour; leaves started to circle around Sceptile until it resembled a vortex of its very own. Sceptile remained in the center as his tornado grew and grew, until Gallade's rock whirlwind collided into it. The two cyclones exploded, sending pieces of rock and leaves everywhere. Gallade and Sceptile braced for cover, rocks and leaves occasionally battering and bruising them. Eventually, the debris cleared up and revealed a panting, but still standing Gallade, and Sceptile, lying on the floor and about to be Angie's first loss.

"C'mon Sceptile, get up! I gotta show her I can battle too!" Angie shouted, hoping to will Sceptile back into battle…however, Sceptile remained motionless, urging Maron to make a decision.

"Sceptile is unable to bat-"

"Scep…" Sceptile interrupted with a groan, using his arms and all the strength he had to push himself back to his feet. "TILE!" he roared, his body becoming engulfed in a green aura.

"What's that?" asked Angie.

"Your Sceptile's using his Overgrow," Anabel explained, though with a very condescending tone.

"Awesome, now Sceptile, use-"

"Sceptile!" Sceptile shouted, using a hand to wave Angie off. Once Angie was quiet, Sceptile started charging a ball of energy in its hands; a small opaque ball of energy that was turquoise in colour.

"That's…that's Dragon Pulse," Angie exclaimed. "I thought only Dragon-types could learn Dragon Pulse…oh well," Angie shrugged, ecstatic over this new move.

"Gallade, finish this with a Close Combat!" Anabel ordered for the first time with her voice.

Gallade charged towards the revitalized Sceptile, the blades slowly withdrawing into his elbows. Gallade's fists and ankles began to glow with a red aura and Gallade readied a punch, eager to finish this battle once and for all. As Gallade closed to within a couple feet of Sceptile, Sceptile fired the Dragon Pulse attack, which Gallade countered with a punch, causing a large explosion; hiding the two pokémon in a thick blanket of smoke.

"SCEPTILE!" Sceptile shouted, obviously taking a strong hit from Gallade.

"Sceptile, block it with Leaf Blade!" Angie shouted, doing her best not to lose this battle.

Sceptile understood, putting his arms in front of himself and doing his best to block every hit Gallade was sending towards him. The heavy smoke refused to let up and the result of each trainer's commands remained completely hidden from view. Nearly a minute passed before the sounds of punches, kicks and the sheathing of air halted, raising the suspense to a level Angie had not previously felt.

"Don't you guys have like a vacuum or something? How can I battle if I can't see if Ash-my pokémon is okay?" Angie shouted, immediately correcting herself, something Anabel quickly caught on to.

"She couldn't mean Ash Ash, probably just some other guy. Besides, what's she doing here without her own pokémon? Maybe I should show her what a true loss feels like just for that…but what if it is my Ash…I guess I have no choice but to battle," Anabel concluded mentally, the hazy smoke beginning to fade away drawing all of her attention.

The two dark figures in the smoke slowly became more visible and within seconds it was clear that only one pokémon was still on its feet and that once the smoke cleared away, there would be an official victor. The dust finally settled, the first battle was over…and Sceptile lay on the floor, eyes in swirls, with Gallade standing over him, tired and kneeling, but standing nonetheless.

"Sceptile is unable to battle. The winner is Gallade," announced Maron, the red flag in his right hand pointed in Anabel's direction.

Angie sighed; she hoped Sceptile would've been able to at least take out one of Anabel's pokémon, but she was proving to be stronger than she thought.

"Maybe Ash was right; maybe I don't stand a chance," Angie sighed, her doubt growing as she recalled Sceptile to its poké ball.

She said it again, and Anabel heard it loud and clear this time…and apparently he didn't believe that this girl could beat Anabel, Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower. "Does Ash really believe in me that much…or is it that he doesn't believe in her very much…" Quickly trying to find some kind of deep answer in such a small comment was doing nothing for Anabel, and instead she decided to respond to Angie.

"Are we going to battle or what?" Anabel sighed. Secretly, she wanted Angie to continue; maybe she would lead her back to Ash. The mere thought of his name made her cheeks tinge a light pink and she closed her eyes.

"Ash…is it really you?" she whispered to herself, making sure neither Maron nor Angie could have a chance at hearing her.

Angie's face turned red with anger and she snatched the second poké ball off of her belt. "Go Torkoal!" she shouted. Torkoal materialized from the bright white energy released from the ball.

"Gallade, start off with a Shadow Sneak," Anabel commanded mentally, reverting back to her empathetic advantage.

Gallade disappeared into the ground, replaced by a rather large shadowy shape which started to slither towards Torkoal, who watched all of it happen in confusion.

"Um, Torkoal…use your Iron Defense!" ordered Angie after she thought over the situation. To tell the truth, she wasn't used to battling with a defensive pokémon with defensive moves, but it was the only choice she had.

Torkoal's body became outlined in a light blue aura and his limbs tensed up, bracing for impact at any time.

* * *

"Pikachu, do you have those Tamato berries all crushed up?" asked Ash, himself separating the red granules of a Razz Berry from the stem on a tree stump near the lake. Seeing a mushy pile of Tamato berry, he stood up and looked around. "Pikachu, can you try and fill this bowl with water?" Pikachu happily nodded.

"Good…everything's going according to plan…I wonder how Angie's doing…?"

* * *

"Good job Torkoal, now hit it with your powerful Flamethrower attack!" Angie shouted; ever since Gallade got struck by that burn from Torkoal's Flamethrower, the battle became completely one-sided. Gallade's attacks started doing much less damage to Torkoal and in turn damaged Gallade to the point of near-exhaustion.

Torkoal unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack towards Gallade, the flames singing the field as it zoomed past.

"Dodge it, then counter with Close Combat!" Anabel ordered.

Gallade prepared to jump, but became engulfed in flames from his burn before he managed to get out of the way. Gallade, being hit simultaneously by his burn as he attempted to dodge the oncoming torrent of fire, became unable to budge and took the attack head-on. Completely engulfed in flames, Gallade collapsed to the ground with a mere cry of its name and swirls in his eyes.

"Gallade is unable to battle. The winner is Torkoal," Maron shouted, sounding somewhat surprised at the result himself. Torkoal released a powerful blast of smoke from its shell to celebrate its victory.

"Thank you Gallade, you were amazing," Anabel smiled, a rare occurrence for her recently, and recalled Gallade to his poké ball. "Not bad for a rookie," Anabel smirked, her delve into Angie's emotions some time ago having apparently revealed her inexperience and slight nervousness. Angie ignored it, completely focused on the match. "I guess it's time for Round 3; go, my friend!" Anabel shouted, tossing a poké ball onto the field which opened to reveal a beautiful and focused Espeon.

"Oh man, it's an Espeon…I love Espeon…and Glaceon and Umbreon…and anything that evolves from Eevee…ugh…why does she have one?" Angie angrily thought, temporarily forgetting about the battle at the mere sight of Espeon; a small battle cry from Torkoal snapped Angie out of her thoughts.

"Nice pokémon, let's give it a proper welcome; Torkoal, use Gyro Ball!" Angie shouted in response.

Torkoal tucked its limbs into its shell and began to spin, the edge of its shell becoming rimmed with a light blue energy. Suddenly, it rocketed towards Espeon; its body only a blur surrounded by thin blue ring of energy.

Anabel channelled her way into Espeon's mind and gave the Sun pokémon its order. "Espeon, stop it with Psychic."

Espeon's eyes glowed a light blue and Torkoal's shell became enveloped in a light blue aura. Torkoal slowed to a stop several metres above the ground; Torkoal untucked its limbs, flailed wildly and began to cry, scared of being trapped in Espeon's powerful psychic attack, but to no avail. Espeon swung its paw forward and sent Torkoal flying at a high speed towards the wall beside Angie.

"Torkoal, use Iron Defense!"

Torkoal's shell hardened until it was nearly impervious to damage before smashing into the wall, protecting Torkoal from any serious damage.

"Now Torkoal, jump and use a Flamethrower attack!"

Torkoal's pushed off the wall and jumped in Espeon's direction while launching a powerful Flamethrower that seemed to scorch the air itself.

"Espeon, Zap Cannon!"

Espeon charged a ball of electricity from the gem in its forehead and fired it towards the oncoming stream of fire. The inferno quickly dispersed as the Zap Cannon charged through it, slamming into Torkoal with full force. Torkoal flew across the room and slammed against the ground right in front of Angie with swirls in his eyes.

"Torkoal, please get up!" Angie pleaded, but Torkoal was completely out of energy and refused to move.

"Torkoal is unable to battle, Espeon is the winner," Maron announced, his right hand pointing the red flag in her direction for a second time. Angie sighed while Anabel patted her Espeon on the head.

"You did great Torkoal, now take a good long rest…" Angie smiled, recalling Torkoal back to its poké ball. She had only one pokémon left, and while it was the pokémon she was most comfortable with, it was also probably not as strong as either of Ash's pokémon. "C'mon out Shinx!" she shouted, tossing Shinx's poké ball; the electric-type growled upon materializing and stared down his opponent.

"A small electric-type pokémon against my Espeon…so déjà vu…" Anabel whispered, her mind replaying her last battle with Ash in her head. Finally, she stepped forward, her eyes blazing with fierce determination and immediately she gave her first order.

"Quick Attack, Espeon!"

Espeon refused to listen and instead took a step back; fear completely overran Espeon and she froze on the spot, too scared to move.

"Nice, huh? It's my Shinx's Intimidate; now it looks like you've got a little fraidy cat," Angie laughed before pointing at Espeon. "Get her with your own Quick Attack!"

Shinx took off towards Espeon, leaving behind only a bright white streak of energy behind him as he ran. Without any time to react, Espeon took the hit square on its side and Espeon was slammed back a couple of feet, but managed to stay on its feet.

"C'mon Espeon, snap out of it, grab Shinx with Psychic!" Anabel pleaded, using her voice instead of her mind.

Espeon shook itself out of its fear and its eyes glowed a light blue and Shinx's body became outlined in a light blue aura before Shinx was launched towards the ceiling at a relatively fast speed. With little time to give an order, Angie could only watch as Shinx smashed into the ceiling and the blue aura disappeared, leaving Shinx to fall towards the ground.

"Shinx, land on your feet!" Angie shouted with genuine concern; never before had Shinx taken such a strong hit.

Shinx's eyes flipped open and immediately Shinx twirled before landing gracefully on the ground.

"Good, now hit 'em with a Spark!" Angie ordered, pointing for added effect.

Shinx growled before charging towards Espeon and shrouding itself within a cloak of blue electricity, leaving behind only blue, crackling, electrified footprints as he ran. Espeon refused to flinch, awaiting the order from her trainer before attempting to counter Shinx's Spark.

"Espeon, let's finish them off! Fire off three Zap Cannons and then control them with Psychic!" Anabel ordered telepathically; flashing Angie a smile as she did so.

Espeon eagerly obeyed; firing off one Zap Cannon after another out of the gem on her forehead. Suddenly, Espeon's eyes glowed a light blue and one by one, the yellow balls of powerful electricity became outlined in a light blue aura and their speed drastically fell until they just floated mid-air. As Shinx continued to charge towards Espeon, Espeon shot one of the Zap Cannons towards Shinx at a blinding speed, maximizing the possible damage Shinx could get hit with. Shinx skipped to the side to avoid the Zap Cannon and as soon as Espeon was sure that it would miss, she fired all three Zap Cannons at herself before bracing for impact. Shinx smashed into Espeon, electricity discharging everywhere as Espeon was flown back but landed on her feet. Unfortunately for Shinx, he was left standing exactly where Espeon was and his eyes widened in fear as he saw the Zap Cannons close in on him.

"Shinx!" Angie shouted, knowing it was too late to dodge.

"SHIIINX!" Shinx shouted as the three Zap Cannons slammed into him at full force, exploding upon impact. Smoke filled the room and a very loud thud echoed along the walls and continuously throughout the battle salon. As soon as the smoke settled, it was clear Shinx was out of the battle; being thrown back against one of the walls with swirls in its eyes.

"Shinx is unable to battle and Espeon is the winner. The battle goes to the Salon Maiden Anabel," Maron announced, finally concluding the epic hard-fought battle. Everyone was surprised it was as close as it was; Angie still lost 3-1 and if Anabel hadn't known Torkoal wasn't her pokémon, maybe she could have been recommended to face the Battle Frontier…later on.

"Great job Shinx; you fought really hard," Angie spoke up, recalling Shinx to its poké ball. Even though Shinx lasted maybe all of a minute and a half; he still managed to hit Espeon and try its hardest…that Espeon was just too strong for him… "Or maybe Shinx was too weak…" Angie shook that thought out of her head; Shinx had just never before been a battler, he was just getting used to it.

"Thanks Espeon, you did great," Anabel happily patted her pokémon on the head before recalling it to its poké ball. "You battled really well, but I don't think you're quite ready," Anabel admitted to Angie; who took the news happily.

"Oh, don't worry about it; I'm just a rook-" Angie's voice was cut off as Maron clamped his hand on her mouth.

"Actually; I just got a text from the Nurse Joy near here," Maron interrupted, saving Angie from exposing her secret. "She said the Gyarados at the lake are rampaging like that one time in Johto; I think you should go see what's going on," Maron explained, his lie covered up by his calm and cool demeanour.

"Oh, excuse me then, I have pokémon to attend to," Anabel appeared to not give it a second thought as she ran off towards the lake. "Why are you lying to me? There's got to be something up…but he does want me to go to the lake…I'll see whatever's going on anyways," Anabel figured out, using her empathetic gift to detect the lie as she had done countless times in the past. Disaster or not, Anabel couldn't help but feel sort of excited.

"For a second, I thought there was a real disaster, it just came out so natural," Angie exclaimed, impressed with Maron's lying ability.

"Ah, it took a long time to work at it, but I'm sure Anabel has no idea," Maron laughed.

* * *

**Anabel's off to the lake; Angie's soon to follow...after she gets her pokémon healed. And Maron...LOL thinks he can lie to Anabel...but he can't.**

**Ash, what's he up to? Razz Berries, Tamato Berries, Water? Awesome...**

**R&R! I didn't spend a long time working and re-editing this chapter just to be snubbed by reviewers!**


	15. Two's a Couple, Three's a Crowd

**First, sorry for the wait! It's been way too long and the end of this chapter may be on a slightly lower level than the rest, but I've recently regained the will to write. But let me explain: I went to summer camp (as a counsellor) and forgot my laptop, so there went my ability to write. Over time, I forgot...until now.  
**

**Second, updates should be coming more regularly. I'll try for at least one chapter every 3 weeks or so. Again, I apologize for not posting this sooner.**

**Without further ado, here is the latest chapter: (It's sort of a plot-advancing filler chapter...you'll see.) **

* * *

Pikachu finished grinding up the last of the Tamato Berries and was putting them into his special "Pika-bowl" as Ash had so cleverly named about 5 minutes ago when a rustling sound managed to catch his ear. Pikachu's ears perked up, which drew the attention of his rash, raven-haired trainer.

"Did you hear something?" Ash asked; Pikachu sighed, letting Ash know he had just stated the obvious…again. "You got the plan, right?" Pikachu nodded in response and used his paws to grab Ash's hat and gently bit the brim of the hat before running off towards the sound.

"Alright…now it's my turn."

* * *

"What do you think Ash is going to do?" Maron asked, breaking the rift of silence separating him and Anabel's latest challenger. The pokémon center, being in a remote location, remained empty for the most part with only Nurse Joy, a couple Chansey, Angie and Maron occupying it.

"What makes you think he's going to do anything special? Won't just being here make her happy again?" Angie grumbled; Anabel just beat her in a battle and now she was supposed to think about how her…'boyfriend'...might go to extravagant lengths just to try to cheer up some girl she didn't know existed until earlier today...great.

"I don't know; it probably would, but they have a strong connection between them. She told me that the day after their first battle, where you'd think Ash would try to surprise Anabel in battle the next time around, instead the two of them had a splash fight with his Corphish without a care in the world," Maron explained, oblivious to Angie's increasing fury.

Angie wanted to scream at all this new information, but she bit her tongue and clenched her fist. Maybe there truly was something to be afraid of after all…and they were just about to be lakeside alone.

* * *

"It should just be a little farther…" Anabel whispered to herself; her body in full sprint as she raced towards the supposed danger. There had to be something important there, it was the only answer; Maron's lying, the unofficial battle and the Gyarados warning.

"Wait a minute, there's something coming…" Anabel stopped; her eyes focused on the path ahead of her, where it sounded like a pokémon was running towards her. All of a sudden, a Pikachu quickly appeared before crashing into Anabel.

"PI-KA! PI-KA PIKA-CHU PI! PI-KA PIKA-CHU PI-KA! PI-KA PI-CHU!" The Pikachu shouted at an incredible volume, but the thing that grabbed Anabel's attention the most was the hat he just dropped. A Pokémon League Expo hat, a hat Anabel had only seen twice before in her life and combined with the Pikachu meant only one thing…

"Ash…" Anabel whispered before rushing towards the lake as fast as her legs could carry her. It took only a few seconds to reach the lake and she slowed to a stop. She looked around the lake in panic…but there was no sign of Ash…or any real danger at all. Anabel could feel her eyes beginning to water…now nothing made sense at all.

"PIKA!" Pikachu shouted, snapping Anabel out of her trance. Pikachu ran past her and around a bush as fast as he could, alerting Anabel to Ash's location. Anabel ran and froze in shock at what she saw; Ash, lying motionless with blood stains across all of his clothes, slumped up against a tree.

Anabel ran to his side as quickly as she could and fell to her knees; tears threatening to leak from her eyes. "Ash!" she shouted, but it fell on deaf ears. She grabbed his collar and shook him, hoping maybe he was just deeply asleep…but he wasn't waking up…and either way, he was covered in blood. A tear began to roll down Anabel's cheek, but she refused to break into sobbing yet… "Maybe he was poisoned by a Beedrill…?" Anabel guessed, hoping for anything other than death, but there was no visible mark of a Beedrill sting. Anabel's heart fluttered at her next thought, "Maybe it's like the fairy tales…" The mere thought of kissing Ash to wake him up seemed foolish…but she was out of options.

Anabel closed her eyes and prepared to hopefully give Ash the kiss of life, but a snicker snapped her out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and saw that not only was Ash okay, he was starting to laugh. Anabel normally would've been upset that someone tried to trick her, but she was just happy with the fact he was alright.

"Ash!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around him like a vice grip. "I'm so glad you're okay." And with that said, she buried her face into his shoulder and started to sob.

"Sorry about that, I was trying to surprise you," Ash laughed while Anabel also started to chuckle.

"You did surprise me…but next time, try not to give me a heart attack," Anabel laughed, accidentally getting a taste of the 'blood' dripping from Ash's hair. "Is that Tamato?"

"Yeah, we spent a while crushing it all up, but the look on your face was priceless," Ash laughed again. "I heard you were feeling down and I wanted to cheer you up." Anabel smiled at his thoughtfulness and leaned in closely to his ear.

"If you really want to cheer me up, you could stay for a couple of days; it's pretty lonely out here…" she admitted, a faint blush slowly spreading along her face.

"That is part of the plan," Ash spoke up, giving his legs a stretch before standing up and reaching his hand towards Anabel. "Want a hand?"

Anabel's deeper blush better betrayed her attempt at hiding her emotion and she happily nodded; using Ash's open hand to pull herself to her feet. An idea popped into Anabel's head and she gave Ash a grin. "Hey Ash, come see your reflection in the lake; it's pretty funny," she suggested, leading him towards the lake.

As they stood lakeside, Ash peered down to see his reflection, but couldn't notice exactly what Anabel was pointing out. "What's so funny Anabel?"

"This."

And with that, she gave Ash a shove and pushed him into the water; something very atypical for Anabel. Ash gave a half-hearted scream as he fell into the water, soaking him from head to toe.

"What was that for?" Ash asked after coughing up the water he accidentally swallowed.

"That was for scaring me so badly," Anabel replied; Pikachu stopped laughing enough to climb onto her shoulder. "Now let's go back to my cabin, you need to get out of those wet clothes…" Anabel paused for a second, her face beet-red as those words left her mouth. "…or else you'll catch a cold."

* * *

"They're taking too long!" Angie grumbled, kicking her foot against an imaginary bucket. "It doesn't take this long to go 'Surprise!', does it?" Angie turned to Maron, who had been doing his best to stay out of an angry Angie's way.

"How about you go after them?" Maron finally suggested, fed up with living in fear for the last 5-10 minutes with Angie this way. "I'll call Anabel at her home when they're fully recovered, if I know Anabel and Ash, they'll probably already be there by now."

"Alright, I'll see you later," Angie spoke up before she ran out the door and towards the lake.

"…She probably should've waited until I told her where to go…" Maron sighed. "Oh well…"

"Do you remember the first time you were here?" Anabel asked, her hand twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open.

"Yeah…you still could've told me you were the Frontier Brain…it caught me off-guard in battle," Ash replied, stopping on the welcome mat to dry off as he closed the door behind both him and Pikachu.

"I was thinking more of the time you were surprised I was a girl, it was probably a pretty unique experience for you," Anabel explained before returning with a towel for Ash to dry off with. "Here, I also have some pyjamas you could probably use."

Ash immediately rubbed his face with the towel and dried his hair as best he could. "I'm not a hundred percent sure that lavender-coloured girl's pyjamas are the best fit for me."

Anabel sighed and laughed; how true that statement was. She walked over to the fireplace and struck a match to start a fire. "They're just a pair of grey jogging pants…you don't have to wear them if you don't want to…although seeing you in some of my pyjamas would be really funny…" Anabel paused, as if contemplating the idea.

"Where are the jogging pants; I'm perfectly okay with those…" Ash ran into the bathroom, ready to be handed some fresh dry clothes to put on.

Anabel laughed as she grabbed her spare pyjamas and placed them gently outside the bathroom door. "They're right outside the door, okay Ash?"

"Yeah, thanks Anabel, I owe you one," Ash replied, albeit slightly muffled by the wet t-shirt still stuck on his head. "Can you also bring me my bag? It's got something…I wear underneath my pants…" Ash said; Anabel sensed his embarrassment and giggled.

"Don't worry; I'll get them." Anabel interrupted, realizing Ash's discomfort about telling her to grab his boxers for him. She began the search for Ash's bag, which ended in the foyer and she quickly grabbed it and leaned it against the bathroom door. "Don't worry about opening the door; I'll be in the backyard when you're done," Anabel finished, her voice already trailing off as she walked back towards the door.

"Thanks Anabel," Ash shouted, unsure if Anabel could still hear him.

* * *

"Ugh…" Angie sighed; she had no idea where she was going. "I definitely must've been here before…that tree looks kind of familiar…" Angie collapsed to the ground and leaned against a tree, her chest pounding harder than ever before. "I don't even know why I'm worrying this much anyways, it's not like he went out of his way to visit her, the tower just kinda showed up…" Angie sighed again; the drama was probably all in her head. She reached into her pocket and tossed out her poké ball, revealing Hoppip after a bright flash of light. "Hoppip, can you let yourself drift along the wind to lead me to the lake?"

"Hoppip? Hoppip!" Hoppip assured her trainer. Slowly, she drifted up further and further until she was at least 10 feet above her trainer. "Hoppip! Hoppip!" Hoppip shouted as she angled her leaves so that the wind would carry her to the lake.

"HEY! Wait for me!"

* * *

"Espeon? Did you just feel something?" Anabel asked her faithful companion, but Espeon had already dozed off. "I guess she's earned it." Anabel sighed; it looked like she'd have to check it out herself…

"But I told Ash I'd be here…" Anabel reminded herself, finishing with a sigh. "I know!" she exclaimed, her hands fidgeting to find the right poké ball. "Go, my friend!" She released the poké ball and her Metagross materialized from the white light. "Metagross, I want you to use Magnet Rise and go find out what's happening at the lake, then come back here," Anabel commanded with her soft tone. Metagross nodded and started to glow a golden color before rocketing into the sky, seemingly unaffected by gravity.

* * *

"There's nothing but berry juice out here, and one of these paths has to lead to Anabel's house…just which one?" Angie sighed; the wind was getting a little too strong for Hoppip and it looked like it was going to be one of those eenie-meenie-miney-mo moments…

Just as Angie was about to make up her mind, a Metagross seemingly glowing with electrical energy rose over the treetops and caught her by surprise. "Oh cool! A Metagross!" Angie exclaimed, not noticing it was heading her way. The Metagross landed beside her and caused the ground to tremble slightly, but she stood her ground, taking out her pokédex to scan the massive pokémon.

"_Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon," _the pokédex began. _"Metagross has four brains that are joined by a complex neural network, which are said to be superior to a supercomputer."_

"Wow, running into one of you isn't something that happens very often," Angie remarked, noting the pokémon's rarity, especially in this kind of locale.

Suddenly, Metagross' cross began to glow blue and Angie became outlined with a light blue aura. Angie found herself unable to control any of her limbs and instantly knew she was being controlled by a Psychic attack. She, along with Hoppip, were softly lifted from the ground and placed on top of Metagross' sturdy body. "What are you doing!" Angie shouted. Instead of responding, Metagross lifted itself off the ground via magnetism and flew off towards Anabel's house.

* * *

"It's really been a long time, hasn't it?" Ash began to realize; it had been about a year since his last visit to the Battle Tower, although time seemed to fly while he was on the road in Sinnoh.

"Too long…" Anabel whispered. She turned around and noticed Metagross starting its descent from above the tree line, with Angie right on its back. "So the battle was just to stall, right?" Anabel spoke up, almost startling Ash.

"Yeah, how was it?" Ash asked, now reminded that Anabel and Angie had just been battling. As he finished, Metagross landed and used his Psychic attack to place Angie and Hoppip gently on the ground.

"Thanks Metagross," Anabel said as she recalled her pokémon. "I thought it was quite the battle, despite the fact two of them were your pokémon, she battled really well," Anabel complimented, much to Angie's delight.

"Thanks Anabel, you were incredible," Angie replied; she was uneasy about Anabel and Ash having been alone together, but everything seemed okay. "Thanks for helping me get here."

"I sensed you were lost, so I asked my-" Anabel started, but was cut off.

"I wasn't lost! I just…didn't know where I was going," Angie sighed. "Thanks though, how about we go inside? Hoppip seems kind of tired." Angie laughed and pointed to Hoppip, who was fast asleep by her feet.

"Sounds good to me," Ash agreed, beginning his walk into the house; it was this moment where Angie realized Ash wasn't wearing his usual clothes, but instead an undershirt with a pair of grey jogging pants.

"Ash? What happened to your hat and clothes?" Angie questioned as she recalled Hoppip to its poké ball; she knew it probably wasn't as bad as it looked, but she just wanted to make sure.

"Oh, well it's kind of embarrassing…" Ash mumbled, his face turning a deep shade of red. "How about I tell you inside?" And with that, Ash raced inside, stalling for any amount of time he could; he was wearing Anabel's pants after all. Anabel giggled at his embarrassment and she grabbed Angie's arm.

"Come on, I'll tell you all about it," she laughed.

* * *

**It looks like Angie and Anabel are getting along for now, but has Angie forgotten Ash believing more in Anabel's abilities than her own? All in due time. But hopefully not 6-7 months again.**

This chapter may have seemed slow, but it's more of a filler chapter...except it's needed to advance the Anabel-Angie-Ash plot (They all start with A...weird), which will hit it's climax in the next 2 chapters probably.

**R&R**


	16. The Revelation

**I apologize again; my computer broke, but I have a new computer, and my life is all under control again...for the most part. And I'm ready to write. I know none of you expected my story to have such a turbulent posting schedule, but hopefully it shall become much more controlled. Sorry for the wait and enjoy!**

**SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO :D, here's Chapter 16.**

**Anabel's age, for all intensive purposes is roughly the same as Ash's. Late 15 year old.**

* * *

"Hahahahahaha!" Angie laughed uncontrollably.

"It's not funny!" Ash repeated, albeit with a whinier voice than usual. Ever since Anabel had broken the news about how Ash scared her and how she got him back, Angie had done nothing but laugh, while Ash had been less enthusiastic. "It's been ten minutes…NOTHING is that funny…" Ash sighed, but to no avail.

"But…haha…you leaned and…haha…she pushed…ahahah!" Angie continued, much to Ash's annoyance. Before he could reply, however, Anabel decided to change the topic.

"I'd love to hear about your adventures in Sinnoh," Anabel reminded him, which seemed to take his mind off of Angie's excessive laughter. Immediately, he shifted from the couch he shared with Angie to the one Anabel was sitting on and his annoyance had suddenly become elation.

"So many different adventures, but just getting to Sinnoh with Pikachu was really hard…do you remember Team Rocket?" Ash asked with a sigh. Pikachu had somehow managed to fall asleep, despite Angie continuing her torrent of laughter.

"It's hard to forget almost being kidnapped," Anabel sighed before smiling; despite the kidnapping and complete disregard for human and pokémon well-being, she remembered it most for the moment where Ash saved her without really knowing who she was.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Ash reminisced. "Anyways, they managed to separate Pikachu and I as soon as we got to Sinnoh, and again they spent almost all of their time trying to capture him, but they didn't get my buddy and they never will." Ash patted Pikachu on the head, making him smile.

"Why don't they just give up?" Anabel wondered, her tone sounding harsher than usual. "It's been a few years, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, of course, but I've learned to live with them…it's weird, but sometimes I think the idea of travelling without them following me is ridiculous. It's a…unique relationship…" Ash laughed.

"It sure is…" Anabel agreed. "How about we go make something to eat?" Ash's lips curved into a smile while Angie immediately stopped laughing at the mention of food, remembering that she hadn't eaten since they had left Ash's house over 8 hours ago. The two looked at each other for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"I am definitely down for some food," Angie smiled.

"Then let's go, I've got some pasta-" Anabel started, but was cut off by Ash and Angie getting up from their seats and running into the kitchen. Anabel stood up and began to follow them before stopping. "There has to be some way to get you alone…at least for a little while," Anabel sighed.

* * *

"That was SOOO good Anabel," Ash moaned as he stretched out on the couch; one of his hands rubbing his full belly. Anabel blushed at his minor compliment, which did not go unnoticed by Angie.

"PIKA!" Pikachu agreed, also rubbing his belly.

"You're welcome," Anabel said softly, aware of Angie's apparent jealousy of his compliment. "This is shaping up to be an interesting night…" Anabel thought to herself; Angie's feelings for Ash were strong, and they weren't one-sided, but there were also some sort of feelings for Anabel within Ash…the only problem was she couldn't distinguish what kind.

As much as Angie did not want to compliment Anabel, she couldn't argue that her cooking was some of the best she'd had in a long while. "Thanks Anabel," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Anabel repeated sincerely; even if Angie was threatening a future relationship with Ash, Anabel had to at least be nice to Angie, even if only to make herself seem amazing in Ash's eyes.

The trio remained silent for quite some time; each pondering different thoughts about the others. The thoughts however, were cut off by a loud, unexpected yawn from Angie. "Sorry, I guess I'm just tired," Angie apologized. Ash still had what seemed like limitless energy, but Angie was exhausted; she didn't like the idea of leaving Ash and Anabel awake and alone, but there was simply no other option.

"If you want, I can show you to your room," Anabel offered; Angie still had no idea how Anabel could be so nice to her.

"That'd be great," Angie said. Ash and Pikachu both mumbled something Angie assumed was goodnight. "Goodnight Ash." She and Anabel stood up and walked up the lavender-carpeted stairs before turning down the upstairs hallway and entering the first room on the left.

"Alright, here's your room," Anabel said. "The bathroom is right across the hall, and if you feel hungry at any time, feel free to grab something from the kitchen."

"Thanks…I guess this is goodnight," Angie sighed; she held her hand out for Anabel to shake.

"Goodnight," Anabel smiled, shaking Angie's hand as she did so. Anybody else probably would have confronted Angie about Ash right now, but Anabel thought better of it; if she did, the rest of Ash's visit would be filled with awkward glances, glares from across the room and even the occasional scowl. She turned towards the door and walked through it and down the stairs.

* * *

"So that was you in the Wallace Cup?" Anabel exclaimed; she had both watched the Wallace Cup and read about it, but she still had trouble believing Ash participated in a contest. "I saw you, you did great…even with the whole Lanturn thing," she giggled slightly while Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I tried…but there was no making up for the type disadvantage," Ash admitted. His eyes glanced at the clock; it read 9:37, about an hour and a half after Angie had gone to bed. "Do you want to go outside?" he suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Sure, I'd like some fresh air," Anabel agreed. Together, the two stood up and put their jackets on; she flicked the light switch off and opened the door, leading Ash out of the house. She stopped for a minute and took a deep breath. "It's so cheerful out here," Anabel smiled.

"Cheerful? It seems more chilly than cheerful," Ash commented, not feeling the emotion from within nature. Anabel giggled at Ash's confusion, leaving Ash in a more confused state.

"How about we go to the lake?" Anabel suggested. "I could try to help you listen to the trees, plants and all the wild pokémon."

"That sounds awesome, but on the way back, can we stop off at the pokémon center?" Ash asked. When Anabel gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "Both of my other pokémon and Angie's Shinx are there, and it saves me from having to do it tomorrow."

Anabel nodded and took Ash's hand. "This is going to be fun," she added, before leading Ash towards the lake.

* * *

"Mmph…" Angie groaned as she tossed and turned in her bed. "Ugh…What time is it? 10:13…" Angie mumbled to herself as she slowly got out of bed. She groggily stumbled to the door, opened it and walked to the edge of the stairs. "Ash? Anabel?" she whispered. She repeated herself a little louder, but nobody responded.

"So if she's out with Ash, I guess that means I can find proof," Angie devilishly thought, flicking the hallway light on. Tip-toeing despite the empty house, she made her way from room to room, trying to find Anabel's room.

She opened her fifth door and turned on the light; her eyes immediately locking onto a picture of Anabel on top of a set of lavender drawers. Angie walked into the room and began her search; careful not to disturb the location of anything. Drawer after drawer, it seemed like there were only clothes. Angie sighed; she expected it to be easier than this. Soon there was only one place left, the bedside table. She walked up to it and opened the final drawer.

"This is interesting…" Angie noted as she pulled out the only two things in the drawer, a newspaper clipping and a hand-drawn picture. It wasn't so much the two objects on their own however, as it was what was on them both. The clipping featured a picture of Ash posing with Pikachu, with the headline 'Ketchum Triumphs In Battle For The Ages!', focusing on his quarterfinal win over Paul, and the picture was of Anabel and Ash holding hands by the lake; probably drawn by Anabel herself. The distinguishable feature which caught Angie's attention was a purple lipstick mark in the shape of a kiss on the top-left corner of each of them.

"That's what I thought."

* * *

"It's so calming out here," Anabel smiled; the moon and the stars reflected beautifully in the lake and created one of the most perfect atmospheres she had ever been witness to. She grabbed Ash's hand and led him to the water's edge. "Now, what do you feel when you look at that tree?" Ash's eyes were gazing towards the tree, absorbing the view, while Anabel's were firmly planted on him.

Ash stared at the tree with immense focus…but nothing came to him. "Nothing…" Ash mumbled. "What do you feel from it?"

Anabel turned towards the tree and began to sense its emotions. "It feels…strong…and special…it feels a sense of pride being the tallest tree around," Anabel began. "It's happy…" Anabel trailed off. "Let's try something else…" Her eyes scoured the landscape for another target for Ash. "How about that Hoothoot?" Anabel pointed towards a lone Hoothoot pecking at the ground not too far away.

Ash focused on the Hoothoot intensely…it seemed like a repeat of last time, but he decided to give it a couple more minutes. His eyes narrowed before suddenly springing wide open. "It's curious, but really happy," Ash said, as if stunned by the words himself. "Did…did I just sense the feelings of that Hoothoot?"

Anabel smiled and wrapped her arms around Ash's waist. "It's possible, but small if it was, but it's better than nothing at all," Anabel praised. "I think I have one way to find out." With that, Anabel detached herself from Ash and stood directly in front of him.

"Try to sense my feelings."

Ash wasn't at all surprised by her request; she had asked him to do so the last time he tried to sense feelings, but the intensity with which she said it caught him off-guard. "Okay," Ash complied. He focused his eyes once again and concentrated not on Anabel, but on what was inside of her.

His eyes opened and he stomped on the ground in frustration. "I can't do it," he sighed. Anabel gave him a confused look before smiling.

"You'll get it one of these days," she smiled. "How about we head back…after visiting the pokémon center, of course."

Ash nodded and began walking towards the dirt path, until he realized that Anabel wasn't following him, but rather standing with a thoughtful look on her face. "You coming?" he asked.

She snapped out of her train of thought and ran to catch up to Ash. "Sorry, I was just thinking," Anabel explained.

"Thinking about what?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Anabel sighed. As soon as she and Ash reached a consistent pace of walking, she began to ponder once again. "I know you saw what I feel…at least a little bit. But your reaction surprised me…why did you lie? Is it that you're worried about me…but you don't have to lie to me…" she sighed. "All I want is for you to be honest with me…"

"I'm sorry…"

The sound of Ash's voice made her realize something; she had said that final part out loud, however, it did seem that she made have gotten Ash's true thoughts out. Anabel and Ash stopped walking and turned towards one another.

"I just didn't know how to say anything…but I'm sorry. I had no idea this whole time." Ash apologized, wrapping his arms around Anabel in a hug. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked concernedly.

"I…I just didn't know how to tell you, but I'm happy you found out," she smiled into his shoulder.

Now it was Ash's turn to have a confused look on his face. "You were happy I found out?" Ash questioned.

Ash's confusion started confusing Anabel, and she tried to regain understanding of the conversation. "Let's backtrack this a little bit," she interjected. "What did you feel?"

"I felt some kind of fear or worry…like you felt something bad was about to happen," Ash explained, receiving a sigh from Anabel in response.

"Well, that explains that…so do you want to know why?" A nod by Ash told Anabel to continue, "Well, it all started a couple months back, just after Brandon left the Frontier…"

* * *

Angie awoke to a bedroom completely enveloped in a cascade of bright sunlight. "Mmph…" she mumbled as she mustered the energy to slowly pull herself out of bed. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and stumbled towards the bedroom door. It was then when she remembered everything from the previous night. Her eyes locked on to the newspaper clipping and picture she had taken the night before, just resting on the bedside table.

"Guess I should take this," she whispered. She walked over and folded both of them, sliding them into her pocket. For a girl who was about to confront a much more respected girl over Ash, Angie seemed incredibly calm; she attributed it to the lack of sleep and continued to march forward, walking through the doorway and down the hall. As soon as she had made it to the last step of the stairs, Angie noticed she could hear Anabel's voice; something she had not expected. Her plan to confront Anabel was well thought-out; Ash should still be asleep for at least another hour, and Anabel seemed like a morning person, but now it seemed that either the two of them had stayed awake all night or Anabel woke Ash up a little earlier than planned.

She stopped and peered around the corner into the living room; Anabel was sitting by the videophone, talking to somebody she couldn't see. Angie took a few quiet steps and tried to eavesdrop; hoping that whoever Anabel was talking to would distract her.

"I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do," a man's voice spoke over the phone. "The rest of the Brains are already aware of the current situation, and I believe that this month or two off will really give us enough time to fix all the little details."

"I understand," Anabel sighed. "At least we will be back, that's good news."

"It sure is; it'll just have to pass a safety test," the man agreed. Angie could not imagine herself being more confused by this conversation; although her initial reaction was that it was not good.

"Alright, if you need to talk to me, you know where I'll be, goodbye Scott," Anabel finished, turning off the screen and ending the call. A few seconds of dead silence passed before she spoke again, "Good morning Angie."

Angie sighed; realizing she was caught, she slowly stood up and smiled, "Good morning Anabel, how are you?" she asked shyly.

"I believe you heard," Anabel sighed; she walked over to the couch and sat down, her eyes not leaving the floor once. "How much of that did you hear?"

Angie sat down next to her and smiled, "I only heard the ending. I'm sorry for eavesdropping, I didn't mean to, I just…I don't know. I'm sorry," Angie sighed; the last thing Angie wanted to do was apologize to Anabel right before confronting her. "She's going through a rough patch, I guess I have to give her some time…I can't be THAT mean…" she convinced herself.

"I guess you were going to find out sooner or later," Anabel leaned into her seat and stared at the ceiling. "It all started a couple months ago; it was a regular battle at the Battle Dome…until Tucker called for a Double Hyper Beam," Anabel sighed. "The attack missed its targets and hit a support beam, crushing it instantly. The building became unstable and people started evacuating…but not everyone made it out." Anabel paused, her eyes welling with tears. "17 dead, 29 more injured and it looked like the Battle Frontier itself was nearing its end…I thought maybe if I kept on battling, maybe it would all just work itself out…but it wasn't meant to be." Anabel's eyes had refused to stop leaking tears, but she continued telling her story. "Scott, by budgeting the finances, realized that if the entire Frontier Brain staff sacrificed a month of pay, we'd be able to afford the re-construction of the Battle Dome…but the rest of the staff refused to work without pay. Even though I was willing to work without pay, a Battle Tower can't run an entire Battle Frontier and so we've been laid off for the next month…" Anabel sighed once again; her eyes red and her cheeks soaked from her tears.

At this moment, Angie didn't see Anabel as a threat for Ash's attention, but instead as a girl who had been put under enormous amounts of stress while also suddenly losing her job, albeit only for a month. So instead of confronting her, Angie wrapped her arms around Anabel and hugged her; something she guessed Anabel desperately needed right now.

Anabel smiled and hugged Angie back, gentle tears dripping onto Angie's shoulder as she did so. "Thanks Angie…" she paused as she wiped the tears off of her face. "So when do you think we should leave?"

Angie released Anabel from their hug and gave her a look of confusion. "We?" she asked.

"Oh, well I'm going to my parent's house in Cherrygrove, and you and Ash are headed to the gym in Violet City, so Ash asked if I wanted to travel together and I accepted," Anabel explained. "By the way, your pokémon are in Ash's coat pocket; he picked them up last night."

Angie didn't know how to accept this new information, but she was receptive before, so she decided to embrace it…at least on the outside. "Thanks Anabel, I'm thinking we should head out soon so I'll go wake up Ash, do you want to make some breakfast?"

"Sure," Anabel smiled. "How about we leave at noon? It's a little later than Ash typically leaves, but we were up late last night." The way Anabel worded that irked Angie, but she nodded and began her climb up the stairs.

* * *

"So when were you going to tell me she was coming along?" Angie asked suddenly. To Ash, it seemed like this question had come out of nowhere; in actuality, Angie had been just biding her time until Anabel left the room to ask it.

"Uh, well, I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal," Ash replied dumbly. "And I was going to tell you as soon as I woke up, but then you said Anabel told you. I never got a chance." Angie was about to reply before she realized something; Ash had a point. As Angie was about to apologize, however, she was interrupted by Ash. "Listen, you remember when you were asking me what changed when I saw you getting sucked into the spirit world?"

Angie was happy Ash changed the subject; she knew that Ash knew she was sorry, but she still didn't want to admit she made a mistake. "Yeah, are you gonna answer it?" Angie replied, eager she was finally going to get a response…hopefully.

"Well, we fought like a hundred times a day," Ash and Angie shared a laugh at the memory of their fights. "But I considered you a friend, and when you almost got sucked in…my heart stopped; and I reached out with reckless abandon hoping I could grab you in time." Ash's eyes avoided Angie, knowing if he saw her, he'd see the look of fear she had that day. "I mean, I would've done the same thing with any other of my friends…but if you slipped and got sucked in…I was fully prepared to dive in after you and figure out a way to bring us both back." Angie shyly looked away from Ash to hide her blush and smile; she knew it was the most heartwarming, passionate, beautiful thing she had ever heard. Ash continued to mumble incoherently in an effort to express himself as Angie pondered her next move.

Angie smiled as she leaned over, cutting Ash off with a kiss on the lips. After a few seconds, she broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. "I get it…" Angie giggled. "I…well I was in shock that someone I was fighting with was actually risking their life to save me…but it really helped me see that you weren't just another rival to me…you were more than that."

Ash's lips curved into a smile as he tightened his embrace on Angie. "So, are you okay with Anabel joining us?" he whispered into her ear. "It's only until Cherrygrove."

Angie stepped back and stole a quick glance at Ash's face; the desperate look on his face made her sigh. "Of course, I know I was overreacting…I just thought it would be just us." Angie's face started to sour so Ash pulled her in for a second hug.

"It will be, and it will be amazing," Ash agreed. With Ash's words comforting her, Angie relaxed into the hug as they waited for Anabel to gather her things.

* * *

Angie, Anabel and Ash remained silent as they walked along the dirt path; the awkwardness of the silence was even affecting the pokémon, as they remained somber and unenergetic. The trio sighed simultaneously; they hoped the rest of their journey wouldn't be as dismal.

* * *

**So Anabel's not doing so good, eh? Out of a job while Scott settles everything. And Ash opens up, hooray for them :D  
AND AWE! Angie and Ash kissed; Cute.**

**The next chapter will take less than 5 months to post, with a working computer now. So R&R, and Chapter 17 will be on it's way.**


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